“This latest action is another step in our commitment to reforming immigration policies that do not align with our nation’s values,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement.
But Mayorkas warned that the government’s last step does not mean that the border will be open to all migrants, and said that “changes will take time” – the latest warning from Biden government officials that migrants should not come now.
“Individuals who are not eligible at this early stage must wait for further instructions and not travel to the border. Due to the current pandemic, border restrictions remain in place and will apply, ”said Mayorkas, referring to the public health measure that the Biden government, like the Trump administration, is using to quickly remove migrants arriving at the border.
There are about 25,000 migrants with active cases under the MPP, but the new program will focus first on those who are waiting on the program for the most vulnerable and older populations, government officials said at a news conference late on Thursday .
The Biden government’s plan is to work with the Mexican government, international organizations and non-governmental organizations in Mexico to identify eligible migrants and begin transporting them to certain ports of entry to process their cases and let them enter the United States. The details of the plan were first reported by CNN and BuzzFeed News On thursday.
Migrants with active cases should not go to a port of entry into the United States until they receive guidance, government officials said. Those in the first phase will be processed at three ports of entry in the first phase, with most of the work being done in two ports. (Government officials did not disclose which three ports are.) Officials said that once processing was working, they expected to be able to process up to 300 people per day at each of the two main ports.
Migrants being prosecuted through the program will be tested for Covid-19 before entering the United States. And once here, they will be enrolled in an “alternative detention program” to track them and their cases will be referred to the appropriate court linked to where they are based in the country, government officials said.
President Joe Biden has long promised to end the program, which has resulted in tens of thousands of asylum seekers being forced to stay in Mexico, often in poor living conditions and facing danger. On Biden’s first day in office, DHS announced that would not enroll anyone else in the program. Last week, Biden signed an executive order that commissioned Mayorkas to review the program.