The Mexican states of Chiapas y Tabasco will be added to the areas where migrants can request appointments online to enter the United States through the CBP One applicationUS authorities announced on Saturday.
This measure, implemented by the government of President Joe Bidencould relieve pressure on the Mexican government and reduce risks for people trying to reach Mexico’s northern border to request asylum, a cable from the agency said. Press Agency AP.
The United States Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) reported that the measure responds to a request from Mexico, an increasingly close partner of Washington in efforts to control large-scale migration flows.
CBP explained that the new policy will go into effect soon, although they did not specify the exact date; however, they noted that the change is intended to prevent migrants from having to cross the country heading north to obtain one of the 1,450 appointments available daily.
The statement said it is working with the Mexican government to adjust policies and practices in response to recent migration trends and security needs.
The document confirms that bilateral relations between Mexico and the United States have drastically reduced migration since the end of last year, according to recent statements by Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena.
U.S. authorities have said increased surveillance by Mexico has led to a Significant decrease in the number of migrants detained for crossing the border without authorization in the first half of this year.
The presence of Mexican officials at checkpoints on highways and railroads leading to the U.S. border has been increased, sending most migrants back to the south of the country, he said. AP.
The presence of Mexican officials at checkpoints on highways and railroads leading to the U.S. border has been increased, sending most migrants back to the south of the country.
Last June, Washington decided to temporarily suspend asylum applications for those who enter the country without authorization.
This made scheduling appointments through CBP One a One of the few options for migrants to apply for asylum in the United Statesresulting in a further decrease in unauthorized border crossings.
The move resulted in a 30% drop in the number of unauthorized crossings in July compared to the previous month, reaching the lowest level during Biden’s presidency and the lowest since September 2020, US officials said.
Bárcena said last Friday that: “We have managed to significantly decompress the northern border and I think that has helped make our relationship with the United States very dynamic and positive.”
Since the CBP One app was first implemented in January 2023 through June, more than 680,000 people have scheduled appointments at eight land crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of these migrants are from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti.
However, The CBP One mobile app has suffered from numerous technical issuesdespite being essential for migrants at the border to request an appointment and present their asylum cases at ports of entry to the United States.
These technical failures, which have prevented dozens of migrants from confirming appointments for asylum interviews at the border with Mexico, were recognized by the United States government.
Despite this, a total of 17,563 Cubans entered through the United States borders last Juneaccording to data revealed by CBP.
That figure represents the lower income in the first nine months of the fiscal year American (FY2024), which began on October 1.
