President Joe Biden is moving away from Title 42 COVID restrictions that have prevented many migrants from seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border for the past three years. However, US officials have warned of “tougher consequences” for illegal border crossers.
US. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official Blas Nunez-Neto said that the number of migrants apprehended crossing the border illegally since Title 42 was repealed on Friday had dropped sharply from previous highs.
As Biden raised the asylum standard at the border and opened new legal pathways for migrants abroad, as countries further south increased border security, Nunez-Neto said apprehensions decreased.
According to Nunez-Neto, migrants “now face harsher consequences at the border, such as a minimum five-year ban on reentry and the possibility of criminal prosecution if they try again.”
Some asylum officers are concerned that the new asylum standard’s rapid implementation will undermine the right to seek asylum under US law, international treaties, and Biden’s campaign promises. The regulation is being challenged in court by immigration advocates.
Migrants said last week that they were rushing to the border to enter before the new asylum rules went into effect. After Title 42 expired on Thursday at midnight, some asylum seekers claimed that US authorities told them they couldn’t enter until they applied for an appointment on CBP One, a new app.
Migrants now face tougher consequences
For months, US border officials have warned that the repeal of Title 42 restrictions, which have been in place since March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, could lead to an increase in illegal crossings. Title 42 authorized US authorities to deport undocumented migrants to Mexico or other countries.
CBP Under the Biden administration, one appointments have increased, as have overseas humanitarian parole and refugee status applications.
Since Title 42 was repealed, the number of migrants caught illegally crossing the US-Mexico border has dropped to an average of 5,000 per day, down from over 10,000 last week, Nunez-Neto said, adding that the situation “is very fluid.”
“This is a continuously evolving situation that we are monitoring in real time,” he said.
“We are processing people in a safe, orderly, and humane manner, and we are swiftly delivering consequences to those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” Nunez-Neto explained.
According to Nunez-Neto, Mexico and Guatemala have increased military enforcement along their southern borders, whereas Panama and Colombia have reduced smuggling networks.
He claimed that thousands of migrants had been deported since Friday. Meanwhile, 2,400 Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who were deported by Mexico have returned home.
Over 28,000 migrants were detained at US border facilities last week.
According to a senior DHS official who requested anonymity in order to share internal data, the figure dropped to 22,000 on Saturday.
The Biden administration has added USCIS asylum-evaluators to the border transition team.
