2023-05-12 09:06:20
During the Covid epidemic, the United States had adopted “Title 42” which was supposed to limit the spread of the epidemic. This text gave the American authorities the possibility of immediately turning back all migrants entering the country, including asylum seekers. This measure ended Thursday at 23:59 (03:59 GMT).
In recent days, thousands of people have flocked to the border between the United States and Mexico waiting for the lifting of this measure. While Republicans demanded his retention, Joe Biden, the President of the United States acknowledged that the situation could be “chaotic” for a while.
Even if the federal State has mobilized “more than 24,000 agents and law enforcement” at the border, in addition to 4,000 soldiers, the authorities have warned that the end of this measure is in no way synonymous with free access for migrants.
“Our border is not wide open”
“I want to be very clear: our border is not wide open. People crossing our border illegally and without a legal basis to stay will be immediately expelled,” said Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas, adding: “However, we are lucid about the challenges we are likely to face in the coming days. and weeks to come and we are ready to respond” while noting “that a high number of arrivals” had already been observed “in certain sectors”.
Although a message in Spanish was repeated over the loudspeaker: “Stay in Mexico, it is illegal to cross into the United States. If you pass, you will be deported”, in Matamoros, a Mexican border town of Brownsville in Texas, migrants continued to cross the Rio Grande River towards the United States on foot or in improvised canoes. In addition, some migrants took advantage of this opening window and rushed across the border some 3,000 km just before the lifting of “Title 42” to apply for asylum, fearing that the change in rules would prevented from doing so for five years.
“It seems that babies are more of a priority”
Between Tijuana and San Diego, 21-year-old Ecuadorian Steven Llumitaxi says he has “confidence” that he will be admitted to the United States with his wife and two-year-old son. “It seems that babies are more of a priority,” he said.
However, at the same time as this opening, new restrictions on the right to asylum, finalized by the Ministries of Justice and Homeland Security immediately came into force on Thursday evening. From now on, before presenting themselves at the border, asylum seekers, with the exception of unaccompanied minors, will now have to have obtained an appointment on a telephone application set up by the border guards or have been refused asylum in one of the countries crossed during their migratory journey. Otherwise, their request will be presumed illegitimate and they may be subject to an accelerated deportation procedure, prohibiting them from entering American soil for five years.
Still, this “CBP One” application has many bugs, which increases tensions at the border. “It’s a nightmare, a real torture. This app undermines us emotionally and psychologically,” said Juan Pavon, a trader who fled Venezuela with his family. Moreover, with these dysfunctions, thousands of migrants are piling up in northern Mexico, which poses a real headache for the local authorities.
In addition, with the approach of the presidential elections in the United States in 2024, this subject is likely to become a focal point in the campaign. If the Biden administration is keen to display a balanced policy, Republicans have accused it of having transformed the border into a “sieve”. For former Republican President Donald Trump, “Joe Biden has officially abolished what was left of America’s borders”. And the fight has already begun in the House of Representatives. Even if the text has almost no chance of being adopted, Republicans have proposed a law to restrict immigration and the resumption of construction of Donald Trump’s famous wall on the southern border.
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