In the past three years, using the covid-19 pandemic as an excuse, the US government has immediately expelled migrants caught entering the country illegally, including asylum seekers. In total, the so-called Title 42 has been used more than 2.8 million times. But even if that brake is now off (officially yesterday at 11:59 p.m. in Washington, this morning at 4:59 a.m. in Lisbon), the barriers to entry into the US will not be lifted, despite thousands of people waiting at that time for the border with Mexico.
Those who thought about crossing the border, turning themselves in to the American authorities and seeking asylum for fear of persecution in their home country will find that this is not possible. The US requires migrants to register through a mobile application (CBP One) to process their application. The application only works for those who are in Mexico City or close to the border.
The problem is that there are only a thousand vacancies per day and there are those who spend weeks trying to get a chance. Those who pass will have the chance to present their case and be allowed to enter the country. Those who cannot do so will be refused entry at the border – there may be exceptions, if they have not been able to access the application or there is a technical glitch, there is a language barrier or they are illiterate – and may continue to try or choose to enter the US illegally.
So far, with title 42, whoever was caught was immediately sent back to Mexico. The 1944 health law was enforced by Donald Trump’s administration to prevent those infected with COVID-19 from entering the country at a time when the then president was already looking for a way to halt immigration.. But President Joe Biden did not reverse the situation, despite being pressured to do so, as several court rulings ultimately backed it up. However, With Covid-19 no longer a public health emergency, there are no more excuses for continuing to use Title 42.
Without this mechanism that allowed for immediate deportation, the process could take longer, but ultimately there is no guarantee that migrants will not be returned to their countries of origin. Title 8, now in effect, allows for the expedited removal of those who violated US law by entering without documents. The process, instead of minutes with Title 42, can take a few hours with Title 8 – in which case they will have a criminal record and will not be allowed to try to enter legally for five years.
Those who enter illegally are placed in the processing centers, and in the case of families with children, they are normally allowed to stay – and they are scheduled for a later court hearing to resolve the case. Adults entering alone are less fortunate and must be placed on an expedited deportation process.. Those “not eligible” will be deported unless they demonstrate “reasonable fear of persecution” in the country to which they will be deported, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. Only in “very limited circumstances” will they be able to avoid this fate.
Asylum rules are also being tightened. According to the lawasylum will only be granted to those who have applied in a third country through which they have traveled – Mexico or another – and whose application has been rejected. It can take months or years to get a response to an asylum application in Mexico, so critics argue that this is effectively a ban on seeking asylum in the US.
Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans or Nicaraguans, such as Ukrainians or Afghans, may be luckier. There is a special program for them humanitarian reasons. The problem is that entries in this case are limited to 30,000 per month. If their application is accepted, and preferably they already have someone in the US taking on financial responsibility for them, they can live and work in the country for two years.
The rules aren’t clear to everyone, with a lot of misinformation on social media – including by anti-immigration groups and even human traffickers, according to experts contacted by AFP. For example, in March there were reports that it was possible to introduce “immigrant day”. In February, there were those who said that whoever turned himself in would be taken to Canada. Even the CBP One application led to the creation of groups on Facebook to share experiences, which also spread lies.
Regardless of the information, the number of people caught entering the US illegally has risen — more than 10,000 people were caught on Monday alone, a scenario repeated on Tuesday. Many migrants fear the situation will worsen without Title 42 and wanted to risk entering early. According to Reuters, citing an official on condition of anonymity, more than 28,000 migrants were in authorities’ detention as of Wednesday morning, exceeding the capacity of detention centers. Biden, who already feared a “chaotic” situation, deployed 24,000 officers to deal with the situation created by the end of Title 42.
Source: DN
