Juarez City.- During the first quarter of the year, the United States Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) processed 8,497 migrants seeking a humanitarian exception at its El Paso Field Office to Title 42, which represents an increase of 413.47 percent compared to the 2,055 people received during the same period of 2022.
While last year 611 people were processed in January, 587 in February and 857 more in March, this year there were 2,952 in January, 2,735 in February and 2,810 in March. The majority during 2023 through an appointment obtained through the CBP One mobile application, which began scheduling appointments on January 12 and receiving asylum seekers at the international bridge on January 18.
Before January 18, applicants seeking a humanitarian exemption who managed to cross the border did so through organizations of American lawyers or through a list coordinated by the State Population Council with shelters.
More than 74,000 appointments made by CBP One
According to CBP, from January 18 to March 30, 2023, the Joe Biden Government received 64,526 people at the seven ports of entry established to receive exceptions to Title 42 in Texas, Arizona and California, in based on an individual vulnerability assessment, through the CBP One app.
As of March 30, more than 74,000 people had managed to schedule an appointment through CBP One to enter the United States through its different established borders, mainly Mexican, Venezuelan, and Haitian nationals.
However, entering the neighboring country through a humanitarian exception to Title 42 does not guarantee political asylum in the United States, since they are released but with an open asylum application process that can last from months to years.
On January 5, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that “to facilitate the safe and orderly arrival of non-citizens seeking an exception to the Title 42 public health order, DHS is expanding the use of the free CBP One mobile app for noncitizens to schedule arrival times at ports of entry.”
Thousands stranded in Juárez
Currently, thousands of Mexican and foreign people are stranded in Ciudad Juárez waiting to make an appointment without making it yet, due to the saturation of the system.
In this regard, CBP reported that “the large number of appointments scheduled through CBP One in recent months was possible thanks to the identification of improvements in the process and the implementation of a series of software updates that solved previously reported technical difficulties. . For example, CBP addressed reported challenges related to geolocation and error messages due to bandwidth issues with third-party software for life.”
He also announced that CBP One’s appointment scheduling functionality for undocumented non-citizens is now available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole, noting that “it is important that users approve location services when prompted in the app or they will not be able to schedule an appointment. CBP will continue to improve the CBP One app as additional improvement opportunities arise.”
The high demand for appointments has meant that not everyone has been able to schedule them yet, but “transitioning the exception process to CBP One allows for more open access and has provided immediate benefits in reducing the exploitation of vulnerable people seeking presents. at ports of entry,” CBP said.
