In recent weeks and with the approval of the Colombian government, USA It has been dramatically accelerating the expulsion of thousands of Colombians who are arrested at the southern border for trying to enter illegally or request asylum in this country without meeting the basic requirements.
(Read here: How would the new immigration law in Florida affect undocumented Colombians?)
According to official figures, since May 1, two daily planes full of compatriots have been landing in the country (about 120 per aircraft).
(You may be interested: This is the family reunification plan for Colombians announced by the United States)
This has given way to chaotic scenes in the country’s airports and multiple complaints about mistreatment in the repatriation processes, which forced a temporary suspension of the displacements while more humane criteria were established for the return to the country.
Although the increases in recent days have been notable, the truth is that this type of mass expulsion has been taking place for more than a year and is part of a multifaceted strategy of USAwhich is not exclusive to Colombians.
With these measures they try to confront the migratory crisis that the border entry points are experiencing, where record numbers of people from many countries of the world are arriving daily.
And it is that only in fiscal year 2022 more than 2 million people were arrested, a historic figure that beat the previous mark reached in 2021when 1.9 million migrants were arrested.
The reasons for this “migratory tsunami” are multiple: democratic crisis in countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cubaextreme poverty exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic, effects of climate change and others.
(Also: Uncertainty and chaos: this is the end of Title 42 on the US-Mexico border)
In this context, the case of Colombians has been dramatic. From just over 10,000 arrests in all of 2021, it went to 130,000 in 2022 and there are almost 93,000 in the first 6 months of fiscal year 2023 (which began in October). That was what led to an agreement in March of last year between the then government of Iván Duque with the United States and that continued after the arrival of Gustavo Petro to the presidency.
The idea, a source familiar with the process told EL TIEMPO, was to make the most of this sale, aware that once Title 42 was over, things could change.
Under this agreement, Colombia agreed to receive Colombians who were being expelled through the controversial Title 42a rule that was adopted when Donald Trump was in the Presidency and that allowed USA return those arrested without having to submit them to the regular immigration process that requires a process through the country’s courts, something that can take even years given the backlog that already exists in processing this type of case.
They could not do this without having an agreement with the country of origin, since international standards require that the person go through said process and deportation be officially decreed. To give dimension to the adjustment that was made in the case of Colombians, before March 2022, one flight a month with deportees was arriving in the country. Since then more than 20 began to arrive.
According to data from the Witnesses on the Border organization, which monitors this type of return, there are more than 230 flights in which some 25,000 Colombians have been repatriated.
(In the same way: ‘We do not want any family to submit to passing through ‘the trail of death’: Murillo)
Deep down, part of the strategy has been dissuasive, because even with the high number of flights paid for by Washington, those 25,000 only represent a fraction (less than 20 percent) of the total number of Colombians who have been arrested.
As he said at the time Colombian Migrationthe idea was also to help the United States decongest its detention centers, which are already overcrowded with people, with a plan to facilitate the return of compatriots.
That plan was adjusted again a couple of weeks ago to allow the arrival of a larger number of Colombians —almost double— in what was called the final stretch of Title 42 that officially expired this Thursday, May 11 after the Joe Biden administration ended the health emergency that was decreed by covid-19 and that gave life to the controversial rule.
“The idea,” a source familiar with the process told EL TIEMPO, “was to make the most of this sale, aware that once Title 42 was over, things could change.”
This is because from now on the process to return Colombians and other citizens will be carried out again under Title 8, which is the regular mechanism that existed before 2020, before the health emergency.
Something that has unleashed a whole political storm in the United States, since it is anticipated that with the end of Title 42 the number of people trying to migrate across the southern border will increase. In fact, the authorities have already seen increases of more than 50 percent in daily arrests and believe that the flow could double in the coming weeks.
(In context: How to request asylum in the United States after the end of Title 42?)
The Biden administration, which found it very difficult to continue expelling people using a health emergency that no longer exists as an excuse, has been preparing for the moment for months with the design and implementation of a strategy that has both a stick and a carrot. .
On the one hand, it has already launched several programs —and more are coming— that seek to expand the legal pathways for migrating to the United States.
Among them is a program that grants 30,000 monthly visas to citizens of Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti and another that expands the Family Reunification program so that it now covers Colombians, Salvadorans, Hondurans and Guatemalans. The specific details, said the Department for Homeland Security this week, will be known as of mid-June and could benefit thousands of Colombians.
Basically, relatives of United States citizens or residents (who have the Green Card), and up to a certain degree of consanguinity, will be allowed to travel to United States soil immediately while the resident visa is issued.
Also with the establishment of the Processing Center —in Colombia and Guatemala, initially— so that potential migrants can process their applications for asylum or work without having to make the dangerous journey through the Darién Gap or Central America.
But at the same time making it clear, as the secretary did Alejandro Mayorkas this week, that the border with USA “is not open” and that those who appear without meeting the requirements will be returned and punished with penalties that include the prohibition to return to the country for at least 5 years and prison for repeat offenders.
Washington, in fact, has already presented a new norm that declares illegal any request for asylum —except in exceptional cases— from a person who has arrived at its southern border without first having requested protection in one of the transit countries. Something that would include all citizens of the world —including Colombians— who arrive by land at the border except those from Mexico.
Tom Cartwright of Witnesses at the Border told this newspaper that the rule is likely illegal and will be sued in court like other Trump-era policies like the so-called ‘Stay in Mexico’ and the immigration provisions for all those coming from a “third country”.
At the same time and in order to process the avalanche of cases that are anticipated, the United States is also preparing adjustments to a mechanism under Title 8, which allows it to expeditiously deport people. Although they would no longer be expelled as such, they would go through an express process with the same result, but a little longer.
To that end, they have been expanding the number of immigration judges and other Border Patrol officials who would speed up the processing of cases, as well as the capacity of detention centers.
(Also: How will the US-Mexico border work now after the end of Title 42?)
And it is, in part, one of the reasons why 1,500 members of the National Guard were sent to help with administrative procedures.
Still, the volume of detainees is so large — more than 20,000 a month and probably more now that Title 42 has expired — that many migrants continue to bet they will be released to the United States while their cases are resolved.
This happens daily with more than half of those arrested. As regards repatriation flights, they will continue to fill up as the US makes express deportations official. But it remains to be seen if Mexico will also begin to accept Colombians and citizens of other countries whose applications are rejected, something that is currently being negotiated.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
TIME CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON
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