SAN DIEGO — The Biden administration on Friday announced plans for tens of thousands of asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico for their next immigration court hearings to be allowed into the United States while their cases proceed.
The first of an estimated 25,000 asylum-seekers in Mexico with active cases will be allowed in the United States on Feb. 19, authorities said. They plan to start slowly with two border crossings each processing up to 300 people a day and a third crossing taking fewer. Administration officials declined to name them out of fear they may encourage a rush of people to those locations.
The move is a major step toward dismantling one of former President Donald Trump’s most consequential policies to deter asylum-seekers from coming to the U.S. About 70,000 asylum-seekers were enrolled in “Remain in Mexico,” officially called “Migrant Protection Protocols,” since it was introduced in January 2019.
On Biden’s first day in office, the Homeland Security Department suspended the policy for new arrivals. Since then, some asylum-seekers picked up at the border have been released in the U.S. with notices to appear in court.
Biden is quickly making good on a campaign promise to end the policy, which the Trump administration said was critical to reversing a surge of asylum-seekers that peaked in 2019. But the policy also exposed people to violence in Mexican border cities and made it extremely difficult for them to find lawyers and communicate with courts about their cases.
“As President Biden has made clear, the U.S. government is committed to rebuilding a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “This latest action is another step in our commitment to reform immigration policies that do not align with our nation’s values.”
Homeland Security said the move “should not be interpreted as an opening for people to migrate irregularly to the United States.” Administration officials have said repeatedly that the vast majority of people who cross the border illegally are quickly expelled under a public health order in place since the pandemic struck in March, but releases of some asylum-seeking families in Texas and California has worked against that messaging.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that she was concerned that limited releases in the U.S. may encourage others to cross illegally because “we don’t want people to put themselves in danger at a time where it is not the right time to come, because we have not had time to put in place a humane and moral system and process.”
Hearings for people enrolled in “Remain in Mexico” have been suspended since June due to the pandemic. Getting word out on when to report to the border for release in the United States may prove a daunting job.
Homeland Security said it would soon announce a “virtual registration process” available online and by phone for people to learn where and when they should report. It urged asylum-seekers not to report to the border unless instructed.
Asylum-seekers will be tested for COVID-19 before entering the U.S.
The announcement provides no relief to people whose cases were dismissed or denied, though administration officials did not rule out additional measures. Advocates argue that communication problems, including lack of working addresses in Mexico, caused some to miss hearings and lose their cases as a result.
More people are getting stopped crossing the border illegally since Biden took office.
Raul Ortiz, deputy chief of the Border Patrol, said Tuesday that more than 3,000 people had been stopped crossing the border illegally in each of the previous 10 days, compared to a daily average of 2,426 in January.
About 50 to 80 adults and children have been arriving daily since Jan. 27 at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, which temporarily houses people released by the Border Patrol, said Sister Norma Pimentel, the group’s executive director. The charity tests for COVID-19 and sends anyone who tests positive to a hotel for isolation.
Jewish Family Service of San Diego housed 191 asylum-seekers the first 10 days of February after the were released by U.S. authorities, up from 144 in January and 54 in December, said Eitan Peled, the group’s border services advocate. They are quarantined in hotels for 10 days.
© 2021 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
Maybe after Trump is exonerated in the fake impeachment he should call for and hold some 30,000 people rallies on the border at each checkpoint of entry. Apparently under Biden, the only legal way to stop an illegal surge,,,,is with another legal surge. Let’s be perfectly clear about January 6th. It was not so much a rally for Trump, but the policies he put in place to protect legal American citizens from having their homeland being invaded, their jobs stolen, or the value of their jobs devalued, and keeping more of the Chinese Pandemic from killing their family members and being used by Democrats to keep their children out of school and their places of employment closed. To allow immigration to continue while the pandemic runs wild is an act of a Presidential Traitor to his people and his country. The true fault and culpability for the anger, the violence, the counter-demonstrations lies in the hands of the Democrat political party that allowed violence to happen all summer long, and illegal immigration since Obama decided darkening of skin color was more important that economic or moral success. Biden now dog whistles with hateful accusations against white people for just having been born with white skin color, and being just as falsely blamed for the imagined sins of generations American long dead, as Trump is now being blamed in this current miscarriage of pretend impeachment justice.
I’d love to see trump call for that.
And this is the U.S. hating “Socialist Democrat Party State” that we have allowed to be our Dictators! 👿
The soon to be vice president Nazi Nancy Pelosi has stated her objectives.
The “Socialist Democrat Party State”, political officers and Gestapo are just getting started.
You will obey, be loyal and support the “Socialist Democrat Party State” or you will be classified as “Enemies of the State”.
24 Aug. 2020 – Monday on MSNBC’s “Live,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
referred to President Donald Trump and his Republican allies as “domestic enemies” and “enemies of the State”.
As President Biden has made clear, the U.S. government is committed to rebuilding a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system
Interpretation: We’re running out of ignorant Leftists and need more welfare recipients to keep us in office.
interpretation: WE don’t have enough of our own murderers, rapists, and thieves in this nation, we need to import mORE…
Biden, the CDC and Fauci are releasing illegal aliens into our Country without them being tested for covid. Oh, I forgot, we white supremacists, who are American citizens, are the only ones that spread covid, right criminal Joe Stalin Mao Biden, right CDC and right Dr. Fauci? The open borders traitors, like Biden, spitting all over the American citizen, as criminal Joe and his sheep want the cheap labor, the vote, they want drugs, gangs , child molesters and terrorists in our Country. Boy, Joe Biden and his sheep are surely Patriots to our Country, aren’t they? People that want to destroy our Country are Patriots?????
And what’s the bet, ALL of them, will be given HEAD OF LINE privileges, for vaccines, ahead of WE American citizens.
Does this sound like a someone who is supposed to be looking out for the best interest of the U.S. or our citizens?
#1. You the taxpayer will be supporting these illegal immigrants.
#2. These illegal immigrants do not have to be vaccinated for anything or tested for ANY disease including the COVID-19.
#3. What is the REAL reason for the Democrat Party to want an OPEN BORDER??
They are only coming here for free, free welfare. And look at all the male in the picture.
Now look this up on the internet crime rates compare Mexico and U.S.. We have more crime
mexico. ….U.S.
Crime levels 57.18. .55.84. Almost the same
Drugs. 1.2%. 13.7%. 11 times higher
Opiate. 0.1%. 0.57& 6 times higher
Murder/firearms. ..24.12. 32.57. 33% higher
Rape. 13.2. 27.3. 2 times higher
So you can see they are only coming for free stuff not for their safety.. There are plenty of countries in South America they could move to
And like always, the commucrats bend over, to GIVE THEM ALL That these invaders ask for
Biden is a traitor! His policies are destroying jobs, making us dependent on foreign oil, raising the costs of medicine, insulin went from $60/ month to more than $500/month, he’s stopped protecting our borders, he’s ruling by executive fiat. Biden’s a traitor, he needs to be impeached and removed from office!
“[A]sylum-seekers” my ever-lovin’ patootie! Those people are coming here because they’ve already raped their home countries, there’s nothing left for them to steal. Leave it to brain-dead Joe to accommodate the dregs of the world!
And most won’t FIGHT for their home nations, so what makes folks think the’ll fight for ours!
The most obvious thing with China Joke in the Presidency is that our government
has totally failed every patriot and every veteran already in the ground. We see the
gains made by Communists, Marxists, jihadists and all anti-American excrement
swimming in the Democratic party. There is no compromising with evil, no getting
along while we are buried in their perfidious pontifications. Where are the Marines?
William
Since this was written by the Canadian press why don’t we set up a superhighway and funnel them straight north. You like the way they are called “asylum seekers,” instead of criminals illegally entering our country?
What irks ME off, is we are seeing areas like Florida, being RESTRICTED from their residents traveling state to state, UNLESS they get tested/show proof of vaccination.. YET these illegal INVADERS, are just being welcomed in, WITH NO TESTING….
Welcome to Chinbidena! Talk about self-centered egotistical “puppet” of the Democrats!
Do these people come with money? Where are they going to live? We have a lot of homeless people here who need homes. I won’t rent my rental properties to anyone who isn’t a citizen, especially an illegal; and I don’t care how much the Fair Housing will pay me for them. Can Biden be that stupid to let them in when we have many people here that need jobs and places to live. Are they going to be given money to live on? Fine if they take it out of Bidens & Liberals’ salary and not the taxpayers. These people don’ have proper hygiene, let alone soap to wash their hands. Bring on more infected covid people to spread the virus, its just a ridiculous as those liberal riots last year which spread the virus and killed people. It this what democrats all about?
Hell, i wonder, if the state could FORCE you to ‘rent’ to those illegals?