New US immigration policies have created a bottleneck on the southern border

The new policies established by the Government of Joe Biden on the southern border of USA have reduced the number of arrests and forced some migrants to wait on the side Mexicancreating a “bottleneck” that, in the eyes of experts, is not sustainable.

One month after May 11, when the controversial Title 42a rule that allowed hot returns at the border, the Biden government points to the reduction in the number of people who are arrested crossing the border irregularly as an achievement.

And it is that the arrests had a significant drop: between May 12 and June 2, the authorities reported an average of 3,700 arrests on the southern border, compared to the approximately 7,000 arrests per day that were seen in the month of May, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This can be explained because the Government imposed greater restrictions and penalties for those who decide to cross the border irregularly.

Among them is the deportation to their countries or to Mexico of those who do not meet a series of stricter requirements to be able to request asylum, which includes having requested protection in a third country and being in high-risk circumstances.

Thus, in the last month, the Government has taken or deported more than 38,000 people to some 80 countries, including Mexico, which also agreed to receive Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans.

“The policies are working to the extent that more people are waiting, but that happens at the cost of the suffering of those who wait on the Mexican side,” Yael Schacher, director for the Americas of Refugees International, told EFE.

The Government has sent the message that, to request asylum -something that by law can only be done from US territory- people must register and request an appointment through an app called CBP One.

One of the big problems is that this app only offers 1,250 appointments a day for the entire border, which makes it very difficult to get one.

As a consequence, explained Schacher, a “bottleneck” of migrants at the border who are waiting on the Mexican side to be able to get an appointment through the app, which has also been accused of having problems with its operation, compatibility with different mobile phones and is only available in Spanish, English and Haitian Creole .

People arriving at the border, many of them after crossing thousands of kilometers and through rugged stretches such as the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama, have been forced to wait weeks and even months for an appointment, according to picks up a Human Rights Campaign study published this Friday.

The conditions in Mexico They are in many cases of high risk for migrants, exposed to robbery, kidnapping and extortion by criminal groups.

In turn, Mexican people who seek to apply for asylum are doubly exposed: forced to wait in the country from which they seek to flee, according to the report.

THOSE WHO RISK CROSSING CANNOT ACCESS A LAWYER

Despite constant messages from the authorities discouraging migrants from crossing irregularly, thousands of them have decided to risk it anyway and cross.

In the last month, most of the detainees are from Mexico -DHS reported 1,200 daily arrests on average of people from this country-, to whom the third country rule does not apply. In second place are Hondurans, with 520 daily arrests and third are Guatemalans, with 360.

People who are arrested and who express fear of returning to their countries are entitled to a “credible fear” interview, where an official determines whether or not the US will take up their case.

Under Biden’s new policies, these interviews are carried out expressly, while the migrants remain in the custody of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

However, organizations in defense of human rights have denounced that the migrants are not being guaranteed access to a lawyer before and during this interview.

“This is a very fast-paced process, where migrants are incredibly isolated, essentially helpless, and where people are bound to fail”Azadeh Erfani, analyst and lawyer at the National Immigrant Justice Center organization, explained to EFE.

For Erfani, who worked on a report detailing the barriers migrants in custody face in accessing a lawyer, “There is no doubt that the Government is making it more difficult” ask for asylum

Crystal Sandoval, a worker from the organization Las Américas, in the border city of El Paso, agreed with this, who assured that the current situation reminds her a lot of what was lived on the border under the Government of Donald Trump (2017-2021).

“It’s very similar to the (program) Remain in Mexico, people are still waiting” on the other side of the wall, Sandoval said, referring to a Republican government policy that forced migrants to wait in Mexico for their immigration cases to be resolved.

As a native of the region, Sandoval said she does not understand why resources are not allocated to receive people seeking protection in the country, instead of restricting their entry.

“I find it absurd and ugly that there is such a struggle to gain access to the territory. I feel that we are ready (…) and prepared, to welcome them”, stressed.

Source: EFE