The administration of US President Joe Biden is preparing for the end of a controversial public health order that has allowed authorities to turn away most asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.
Biden held a call with his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on Tuesday, just two days before the Title 42 policy expires, with the leaders pledging to strengthen cooperation at the border.
“They discussed continued close coordination between border authorities and strong enforcement measures,” the White House said in a readout of the talks.
“Both leaders underscored the value of managing migration in a humane and orderly manner with expanded legal pathways and consequences for irregular migration,” he said.
Title 42, first imposed by former US President Donald Trump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, effectively allowed US border authorities to quickly turn away most asylum seekers arriving at the border. without offering them a chance to request protection.
The policy has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights advocates who argue that it forces migrants and refugees back into unsafe Mexican border cities and violates US obligations under international law.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre maintained that the Biden administration was ready to handle an expected influx of border arrivals when the rule expires on Thursday.
“Right now we believe that we have a strong plan, a multi-agency plan, to do this in a humane way,” Jean-Pierre said, stressing that Washington is following a policy of “enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy.”
The White House announced last week that it would send a 1,500 US soldiers to the border in anticipation of the end of Title 42.
Border states, cities prepare
US states and municipalities along the border with Mexico are also preparing.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he planned to deploy the state’s new “Texas Tactical Border Force,” under the auspices of the Texas National Guard.
And on Tuesday, US Customs and Border Protection agents launched a “targeted enforcement operation” in the Texas city of El Paso, a key point along the border that has seen a surge in crossings. irregular in recent days.
The Department of Homeland Security also said it would reduce the flow of legal travelers through the Paso Del Norte port of entry to focus on security.
El Paso, as well as two other Texas cities, Brownsville and Laredo, have declared a state of emergency as they struggle to cope with hundreds of people, mostly from Latin America and some from China, Russia and Turkey, already there.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said the city was preparing for many more on Friday, judging by a recent tour of the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez. “On the street, we estimate between eight and 10,000 people,” Leeser said.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has said the state will transport irregular border crossers to other parts of the US to help with new arrivals.
Humanitarian groups have already said the number of people gathering near the border has risen sharply in recent days in anticipation of the end of Title 42.
In Matamoros, Mexico, migrants and refugees were buying pool floats and life jackets to prepare to cross the Rio Grande to Brownsville, Texas, migrant rights activist Gladys Cañas told Reuters news agency.
In Tijuana, across from San Diego, California, asylum seekers formed long lines in front of an imposing border fence on Monday to turn themselves in to US border agents.
confusion and frustration
Those hoping to apply for asylum have expressed frustration with the CBP One app, which they are expected to use to schedule appointments to enter the US.
Amnesty International has said that the requirement “severely limits the ability of asylum seekers to seek international protection.”
Speaking to the AFP news agency from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, a Venezuelan mother of two young children, Marjorie, said she had given up the app. Instead, she tried to turn herself in to US border authorities.
“They just come and tell us they are going to receive us but they never come back,” he told AFP. “They tell us to stay calm, to wait here, but they never come. We do not know why.
The Biden administration has said it will employ expedited screenings and removals in the wake of the expiration of Title 42. Unlike the public health rule, people turned away will be barred from trying to enter the US for five years.
Management is also hopes to impose a rule that would deem people ineligible to apply for asylum in the US if they passed through a third country before reaching the US border and did not apply for protection there first.
The measure, dubbed an “asylum ban” by immigrant rights groups, would broadly restrict asylum claims for Mexican citizens.
Earlier this year, the administration also announced a scheme that could see Mexico receive up to 30,000 migrants and refugees from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela each month.
At the same time, Washington said it would receive a maximum of 30,000 people from those four countries each month if they meet certain criteria, including having sponsors in the US and passing background checks.
The White House said Tuesday that the United States and Mexico have agreed to “continue to implement the successful joint initiative” after the end of Title 42.
