Biden restricts access to asylum at the border with Mexico as Title 42 expires

USA launched a new regulation Wednesday that will deny asylum to most immigrants who cross the border illegally with Mexico, a key part of the president’s plan Joe Biden ahead of the end this week of the COVID-19 border restrictions, known as Title 42.

The final version of the regulation, which will go into effect on Thursday, has no major changes from the draft published in February, a senior Biden administration official told reporters late Tuesday.

The regulation will create the presumption that immigrants who arrive at the border do not have the right to asylum if they have passed through other countries without first seeking protection or if they have not used the legal routes of entry to the United States.

The new restrictions will apply to the vast majority of non-Mexican migrants, as they often pass through several countries on their way to the United States.

The Biden administration is bracing for a potential increase in unauthorized border crossings, already at record levels, when COVID-19 restrictions, initially applied in March 2020, are lifted on Thursday. Migrants have piled up in Mexico this week as thousands of people crossing into the United States have overwhelmed border cities.

The restrictions of the Title 42 allow US authorities to quickly expel many non-Mexican migrants back to Mexico without the possibility of seeking asylum in the United States. The Mexicans, who account for the largest number of those caught crossing, can be quickly returned to Mexico under bilateral agreements that predate the COVID-19 restrictions.

Biden’s new regulations that restrict access to asylum at the border resemble similar measures applied under the mandate of Donald Trump that were blocked by US courts. The move also counters statements Biden made in 2020 on the campaign trail, saying he thought it was “incorrect” that people could not apply for asylum on US soil.

Some Democrats and immigration advocates have said the regulation undermines the ability to claim asylum at US borders, as required by US law and international agreements. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already indicated that it will file a lawsuit against Biden’s policy.

On the other side of the ideological spectrum, a coalition of 22 Republican state attorneys general separately opposed the measure, saying it is “riddled with exceptions”.

In addition to the ban on asylum seekers, which could increase deportations, Biden administration officials said in late April that they are expanding legal pathways for immigrants abroad to provide alternative ways to enter the United States. States and discourage illegal crossings.

On the call with reporters on Tuesday, Biden officials said the administration planned to open more than 100 immigration processing centers in the Western Hemisphere and would launch a new online dating platform in the coming days.

Officials also said they hoped Mexico step up immigration enforcement this week, including in the south of the country.

Source: Reuters