More than 150,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Colombians, wait at the Mexico-United States border to enter the northern country a few days before the deadline for the Title 42.

The state of Texas has become a dormitory for thousands of people seeking to fulfill the “American dream” as the United States will focus on more operations to process and return immigrants in the coming days, given the end of this week May 11 of the controversial Title 42 Regulation which threatens to cross borders.

The Texan cities of El Paso, Brownsville and Laredo have declared a state of emergency and are doing their best to deal with hundreds of people, the majority from Latin America and others from China, Russia and Turkey.

Immigrant families cross from Mexico to the United States to seek asylum in El Paso, Texas on May 8, 2023. A wave of immigrants is expected this week trying to enter the US under the Covid-era Title 42 border control policy. Photo: — JOHN MOORE

In El Paso, some migrants sleep on the street, cover themselves with sheets against the sun or rest on cardboard. Dirty children beg for alms. However, local authorities expect the number of migrants to increase from Friday.

Title 8

Once the health regulations are lifted, Title 8 will continue to be used, which allows asylum applications as long as the person can convince that they will be persecuted or tortured if they return to their country, but also allows the expedited deportation of others and punishes them with a five-year travel ban. years after eviction.

This was confirmed on Tuesday by senior US government officials in a telephone conversation with the media in which they reiterated that after the end of this measure “the border will not be open”, but rather “harsh consequences” will be imposed. those trying to enter the United States illegally.

This Thursday ends the Title 42 Immigration Rule, a measure passed by former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and later continued by Democratic President Joe Biden to deport migrants amid the Covid-19 pandemic .

What is the Title 42 Health Regulation and how does it affect migrants seeking to reach the United States?

In preparation for the possible problems arising from the end of this regulation, due to the possible increase in the migration flow, 1,500 US soldiers will be deployed at the border to support Border Patrol agents “in administrative duties” and the number of asylum seekers, immigration judges and lawyers has also increased.

In total, “more than 4,000 people” have been temporarily sent to the border to strengthen operations and “all our asylum officers have been retrained so that they are ready and prepared for the interviews that will be necessary for expedited repatriation.” start executing from Thursday,” these sources said.

— EL PASO, TEXAS – MAY 08: In an aerial view, immigrants wait at the US-Mexico border fence, hoping to be granted asylum by US border agents on May 8, 2023 in El Paso, Texas. A wave of immigrants is expected to try to cross the border with the end of the US government’s Title 42 policy, which has enabled the rapid expulsion of irregular migrants entering the country for the past three years. John Moore/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Photo: — JOHN MOORE

“We are going to prosecute the migrants we find at the border with expedited repatriation,” these sources insisted, and the citizens of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti who have no legal basis “will be returned to Mexico with a repatriation order.”.

As part of the deterrent objective, Joe Biden’s administration plans to step up security operations to process migrants who have crossed the border illegally.

This is the procedure to apply for the new family reunification program in the United States and avoid long and dangerous journeys

The US government announced the opening of “regional processing centers” across Latin America, starting with Guatemala and Colombia, to pre-select migrants who can enter the country.

Entry ban for 5 years

According to the official sources, Border Patrol agents plan to conduct a special operation in the coming hours to detain migrants in El Paso, Texas, where hundreds of people have slept on the streets for days, to track down those who are not continued. and repatriate those who do not meet the requirements to apply for stay in the country.

The official sources explained that the goal is for immigrants who cross the border illegally to face “stricter consequences than those under Title 42,” which would include a five-year ban on entry into the United States for all those migrants crossing the border into Mexico. . without permission, announced last week by the Minister of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.