SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Biden government on Friday announced plans for tens of thousands of asylum seekers waiting in Mexico for their next immigration court hearings to be allowed to enter the United States while their cases continue.
The first of about 25,000 asylum seekers in Mexico with active cases will be allowed to enter the United States on February 19, officials said. They plan to start slowly with two border crossings, each processing up to 300 people a day and a third crossing taking less. Government officials refused to identify them for fear that they would encourage a rush of people to these locations.
The move is an important step in dismantling one of former President Donald Trump’s most important policies to prevent asylum seekers from coming to the U.S. About 70,000 asylum seekers were enrolled in the “Stay in Mexico” program, ”Officially called“ Protocols for the protection of migrants ”, since it was introduced in January 2019.
On Biden’s first day in office, the Department of Homeland Security suspended policy for newcomers. Since then, some asylum seekers caught at the border have been released in the United States with notifications to appear in court.
Biden is quickly fulfilling the campaign promise to end the policy, which the Trump administration said was instrumental in reversing the increase in asylum seekers that peaked in 2019. But the policy also exposed people to violence in the Mexican border cities and it made it extremely difficult for them to find lawyers and communicate with the courts about their cases.
“As President Biden has made clear, the US government is committed to rebuilding a safe, orderly and humane immigration system,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “This latest action is another step in our commitment to reform immigration policies that do not align with our nation’s values.”
Homeland Security said the measure “should not be interpreted as an opening for people to migrate irregularly to the United States”. Government officials have repeatedly said that the vast majority of people who cross the border illegally are quickly expelled under a public health order in force since the March epidemic, but the release of some asylum-seeking families in Texas and California has worked against that message.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that she was concerned that limited publications in the U.S. could encourage others to cross illegally, because “we don’t want people to put themselves in danger at a time when it is not the right time to come, because we did not have time to put into practice a human and moral system and process ”.
Hearings for people registered in “Remain in Mexico” have been suspended since June due to the pandemic. Getting to know when you come to the border to be released in the United States can be a difficult task.
Homeland Security said it will soon announce a “virtual registration process” available online and over the phone to let people know where and when they should be presenting. He urged asylum seekers not to report to the border, unless instructed.
Asylum seekers will be tested for COVID-19 before entering the USA
The announcement does not offer relief to people whose cases have been dismissed or dismissed, although government officials have not ruled out additional measures. Defenders argue that communication problems, including the lack of work addresses in Mexico, have caused some to miss hearings and, as a result, lose their cases.
More people are being prevented from crossing the border illegally since Biden took office.
Raul Ortiz, deputy chief of the Border Patrol, said on Tuesday that more than 3,000 people were prevented from crossing the border illegally on each of the previous 10 days, compared with a daily average of 2,426 in January.
About 50 to 80 adults and children arrive daily since January 27 at the Catholic Charities in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, which temporarily shelters people released by the Border Patrol, said Sister Norma Pimentel, the group’s executive director. The charity tests COVID-19 and sends all positive results to a hotel for isolation.
The San Diego Jewish Family Service housed 191 asylum seekers in the first 10 days of February, after they were released by US authorities, against 144 in January and 54 in December, said Eitan Peled, the group’s border services advocate . They are quarantined in hotels for 10 days.