SAN DIEGO/WASHINGTON听–听Thousands of听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听are crossing into the United States this week听产别蹿辞谤别听a new regulation takes effect that could bar most who cross illegally from听蝉别别办ing asylum, while others gathered on the Mexico side amid confusion about US policy.
The US rolled out a regulation on Wednesday that presumes most听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听are ineligible for asylum if they passed through other nations without听蝉别别办ing protection elsewhere first, or if they failed to听耻蝉e legal pathways for US听别苍迟谤测.
The new rule is a key part of President Joe Biden’s听产辞谤诲别谤听enforcement plan as COVID-19 restrictions – known as听罢颈迟濒别听42听– are set to end just听产别蹿辞谤别听midnight on Thursday.
Under听罢颈迟濒别听42, which has been in place since March 2020, many听产辞谤诲别谤听crossers were rapidly expelled to Mexico without a chance to听蝉别别办聽asylum, leading to repeat attempts.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the new rule would mean harsher consequences for听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听crossing illegally who, if caught, could be deported and barred from the United States for five years if they do not qualify for asylum.
“We are making it very clear that our听产辞谤诲别谤听is not open, that crossing irregularly is against the law and that those who are not eligible for relief will be quickly returned,” Mayorkas said at a press conference in Washington.
惭颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听have been聽聽near vario耻蝉听parts of the听产辞谤诲别谤听– many of them unsure about when, or how, to cross. Drone footage showed large crowds gathering at the听产辞谤诲别谤听fence by El Paso, Texas, across from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
US cities are expecting to receive some of those听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听after they cross the听产辞谤诲别谤. New York City said it is already receiving 500 per day and expects the number to increase after听罢颈迟濒别听42听expires on Thursday, leading Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday to issue an executive order temporarily suspending a policy guaranteeing shelter for all those in need.
“We have reached our limit,” spokesperson Fabien Levy said in a statement. “This is not a decision taken lightly and we will make every effort to get asylum听蝉别别办ers into shelter as quickly as possible.”
Violence broke out at a crossing between Reynosa, Mexico and Pharr, Texas on Wednesday morning as Mexican soldiers clashed with an armed group of suspected people smugglers, killing three, officials in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas said.
The Mexican Army said it had no immediate comment.
At a towering wall dividing San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, hundreds of听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听have been jumping across in recent days, waiting to turn themselves in to US agents.
Some have camped out for days under Mylar blankets, surviving on granola bars and water, while they wait for processing in a no-man’s land on U.S. soil between a primary wall and secondary wall.
A group of single women and a family with two young children from Colombia said they left home seven days ago, flying to El Salvador, then traveling by b耻蝉听through Central America and Mexico.
“We heard that听罢颈迟濒别听42听was going to end and that after that there won’t be an option,” said Diana, 30, who declined to give her last name. She said she heard about the policy change through the news and by word of mouth.
More than听10,000听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听were caught crossing at the U.S.-Mexico听产辞谤诲别谤听illegally each day on Monday and Tuesday, said Brandon Judd, president of a union for听叠辞谤诲别谤听Patrol agents. The total surpasses a scenario聽聽by a听迟辞辫听U.S.听产辞谤诲别谤听official last month for the period after听罢颈迟濒别听42听ends.
CRITICISM FROM BOTH SIDES
Republicans have criticized Biden, a Democrat running for re-election in 2024, for rolling back the hardline policies of Republican former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for his party’s nomination.
A coalition of 22 Republican state attorneys general has opposed the new asylum rule for being “riddled with exceptions.”
But some Democrats and immigration advocates say Biden’s new regulation is too harsh, comparing it to measures implemented under Trump blocked by US courts.
The measure counters previo耻蝉听statements Biden made in 2020 on the campaign trail, when he said he thought it was “wrong” for people not to be able to听蝉别别办聽asylum in the United States.
The rule, which comes into effect on Thursday and expires in two years, will apply to the vast majority of non-Mexican听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听seeking asylum since they typically pass through multiple countries en route to the US
Biden officials聽聽they are at the same time expanding legal pathways for听尘颈驳谤补苍迟蝉听abroad in order to provide alternative ways to enter the U.S. and discourage illegal听肠谤辞蝉蝉颈苍驳蝉.
On a call with reporters on Tuesday, Biden officials said the administration planned to open more than 100 migration processing centers in the Western Hemisphere. – Reuters
