The number of migrants intercepted at the southern border of the United States has dropped significantly since the end of Title 42the health regulations that allowed hot expulsions due to the covid-19 pandemic and that came to an end a week ago.
Due to the new Title 8 restrictions, It does not cross the mind of migrants to cross the Rio Grande, as thousands had been doing until Thursday to turn themselves in to US agents and ask for protection.
According to the Undersecretary for Border Policy and Immigration of the Department of Homeland Security, Blas Núñez-Neto, the border authorities have registered a decrease in the number of crossings of migrants of all nationalities of more than 56% since the end of last week, which represents an average of 4,400 interceptions each day.
During the last two days, in fact, the arrests have been less than 4,000 each day. Before Title 42 ceased to apply, agents recorded an average of 10,000 arrests per day.
Most of the intercepted migrants come from Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala. Before the end of Title 42, Venezuelans outnumbered Colombians and Guatemalans.
In addition, about a thousand migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua have been deported to Mexico as a result of an agreement by which the Latin American country has agreed to welcome these nationalities.
(Also read: Ten things you should know before applying for your visa to the United States for the first time)
The “CBP One” mobile application, designed to centralize immigration appointment requests in the United States, has also received “tens of thousands” of visits and more than 5,000 have been “processed” since May 12, the official said.
Núñez-Neto’s statements coincide with those made by the Secretary of National Security, who said on Sunday that the number of migrants intercepted by US authorities at the border with Mexico was cut in half after the end of Title 42.
“In the last two days, the United States border patrol has recorded a 50% drop in the number of encounters compared to what we experienced earlier in the week,” Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s “State of the Union”.
According to the official, around 6,300 migrants crossed the border with Mexico on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday, numbers he described as “remarkably low.”
(Also: US Says Migrant Inflows From Mexico Drop After End of Title 42)
Although those responsible warned that it is early to draw conclusions from the apparent decrease in crossings, They attributed the data to the expansion of processing capacity funded by the Administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
Even so, Núñez-Neto warned that human traffickers will try to use the confusion created by the end of Title 42 to spread disinformation.
Those who cross the border without regular immigration status will not be eligible for asylum.
After the end of the health emergency last Thursday night, The United States stopped applying Title 42, which allowed undocumented migrants to be expelled without the possibility of requesting asylum by the pandemic, but it instituted other restrictions at the border and began deporting under another regulation known as Title 8.
(You can read: Learn what the United States strategy will be after the end of Title 42)
The authorities have warned that from now on all those people who cross the border without a regular immigration status will not be eligible for asylum.
Before appearing at the border, migrants must previously obtain an appointment through a mobile application for the centralization of asylum applications, CBP One, or their asylum application must have been rejected in one of the transit countries.
Otherwise, they may be subject to expedited deportation proceedings to their countries of origin and a ban on entry to US territory for five years.
Although those responsible consider that it is early to judge the situation, the reduction in the number of migrant crossings contrasts with the predictions of many Republican politicians about the avalanches that would occur at the border once the United States ended Title 42.
The situation in Mexico
But the good figures reported by the authorities in the US contrast with the testimonies of hundreds of migrants stranded on the southern border of Mexico, who They denounce that the Mexican authorities have blocked their way to transit through the country towards the border with the United States.
At the checkpoint of Ejido Viva México, near the border with Guatemala, migrants from Africa, China, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Honduras and Colombia remain, awaiting attention from the National Institute of Migration (INM).
(Keep reading: ‘We do not want any family to submit to passing through ‘the trail of death’: Murillo)
Colombian Andrés Castro, in his 40s, who was engaged in informal commerce in his country, accused the authorities of “closing the doors directly on them.”
The South American indicated that, given the lack of attention, groups of migrants have decided to walk away and surround immigration checkpoints.
“They have not treated us in one way, Migration does not solve anything for us, the truth has not been treated as it should be, we ask to leave quickly to reach the goal,” he told Efe.
The situation mirrors the outlook for Mexico following the expiration last week of US Title 42. ANDhe Government of Mexico has promised to “help in everything” to avoid immigration chaos and maintains the deployment of nearly 25,000 elements of the Armed Forces on the northern and southern borders for immigration tasks.
Wilmar Cárdenas, from Venezuela, has been waiting for four days to obtain documents to transit through Mexican territory.
(In other news: Mexico reports a drop in the flow of migrants to the United States after the end of Title 42)
“We have spoken with the authorities, but they tell us that they are going to take us on a bus six hours from now, but we do not know where or when, but it is not known to what destination they are going to take us to continue or some border” , he stated.
The migrants indicated that they have tried to walk on the highway, but the authorities return them due to the lack of a transit permit and the lack of money that has been diminishing due to the long wait for the documents.
The region is facing an unprecedented migratory flow with more than 2.76 million undocumented people intercepted by the United States at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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