SAN DIEGO/WASHINGTON: Hours before immigration curbs known as “Title 42” expired, migrants congregated on both sides of the US-Mexico border as some rushed to enter ahead of rigorous new asylum criteria that would replace a COVID-era decree issued by former US president Donald Trump.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently been detaining up to 28,000 migrants at its facilities, far over its claimed capacity and in what seemed to be a record, two federal officials seeking anonymity and the Border Patrol’s union said.
According to union president Brandon Judd, the busiest border detention facilities were located in El Paso, Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, and two locations in Arizona.
This week, the number of people arrested crossing illegally into the US topped 10,000 per day.
Due to a large number of arrivals, agents started releasing some migrants on Wednesday and asked them to appear in immigration court so they could file an asylum claim instead, according to Judd.
This programme was originally enjoined in March owing to a failure to follow required regulatory processes, according to a federal court in Florida who banned such releases on Thursday night.
An inquiry for comment was not answered by CBP. According to Judd, individuals spend almost three days in jail on average.
Hundreds of migrants waited to turn themselves in to US border patrol authorities in Yuma, Arizona, as they queued up in the freezing hours before dawn near a massive border barrier.
Many people, including Colombian Jovanna Gomez, 40, decided to try their luck crossing today after learning about the US policy change.
She stated, “We came racing against the clock because in my country (Mexico), you hear that immigration will only be permitted until May 11.” It was difficult.”
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have been forcibly deported to Mexico under Title 42, which has been in effect since March 2020 and is slated to expire at midnight.
However, while only a small number of nationalities, mostly Maxicans and Central Americans, as well as more recently Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, were welcomed back into Mexico, many immigrants from other nations have been permitted to enter US and pursue their immigration claims.
That is about to change when the government of President Joe Biden deployed more personnel and resources to the border and implemented the new rule, which will reject refuge to all migrants who enter the US illegally.
Anyone who has entered the United States illegally or without using legal channels will be prohibited by the law.
After Thursday’s declaration of the wide COVID public health emergency’s termination and the lifting of Title 42, it will go into force.
