Close to 100 migrants expelled across the border into Reynosa walked on to the Hidalgo International Bridge to protest expulsions and to call for the Biden administration to let them in.
The Biden administration has flown around 2,000 asylum seekers from Texas to San Diego to be expelled across the border into Tijuana, all of whom are families with children. Many were never given a chance to tell their stories to Border Patrol, and many reported inconsistent and arbitrary decisions made by CBP.
April 1, 2021 The Biden administration is considering a proposal to allow asylum cases to be adjudicated by DHS in addition to immigration courts in order to reduce backlog and speed up the process.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced at a press briefing that the Biden administration is restarting the Central American Minors program, a policy started under Obama that allows minors in Central America to start the asylum process in their country of origin.
15,000 of the 25,000 asylum seekers eligible to enter the United States as the Biden administration rolls back the Remain in Mexico program are already in line, according to the UN.
A group of 27 asylum seekers from the Matamoros refugee camp entered the United States on Thursday, the first from the camp to be admitted amid the beginning of the end of Remain in Mexico.
UN agencies began processing individuals and families enrolled in the Remain in Mexico program from the Matamoros migrant camp for entry to the United States. Both the US and Mexican governments have asked the UN to aid in the process, and the International Organization for Migration is administering Covid tests to migrants.
Some Remain in Mexico enrollees are being allowed into the United States as of Friday, February 19, first at the San Diego port of entry and later through Brownsville and El Paso as well. Processing will be slow at first, with only a few hundred entering per day.
A Honduran father and son were among the first Remain in Mexico enrollees to be admitted into the U.S. under the Biden administration. While in Mexico, the father was kidnapped, beaten, and held for ransom.
Although the Mexican government promised to provide upwards of 3,500 jobs for migrants in the Remain in Mexico program, according to the Mexican Secretary of Labor only 64 were actually employed due partially to the fact that many migrants were never issued work permits.
Freezing weather, with temperatures dropping to 25 degrees, has hit a migrant camp in Matamoros where Remain in Mexico enrollees await their turn to enter the United States.
The Biden administration will soon begin admitting migrants enrolled in the Remain in Mexico program. The plan starts slowly at three ports of entry, targets those who still have active cases in US immigration courts, and will be based on the date of enrollment in the program, with exceptions made for especially vulnerable migrants.
Media reportsindicate that increased numbers of apprehended migrant families, along with reduced processing space due to COVID, are causing larger numbers to be released into the U.S. interior to await their immigration court dates in the United States.
DHS has failed to effectively implement prompt asylum programs including the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP), according to reports released by the DHS Inspector General and U.S. Government Accountability Office. These programs were developed to quickly process migrants with claims of credible fear, and raise very troubling due process concerns.
The Trump administration rushed through several asylum restrictions set to take effect near Joe Biden’s inauguration, including one that disqualifies domestic abuse and gang violence victims from being granted asylum, another that bars non-Mexican migrants from applying for asylum, and one that would remove U.S . protection for migrants exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement announcing a suspension of new enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols or “Remain in Mexico” Program. It directs migrants currently subject to “Remain in Mexico” to stay put in Mexico for the time being.
