José Díaz Briseño/ Reform Agency
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 | 06:35
Washington DC, United States.- The Biden Administration has returned more than 2,400 migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti to Mexican territory since early Friday morning after the expiration of the policy of ‘express expulsions’ justified by the pandemic and known as Title 42.
Considered historical, the returns to Mexican territory of migrants from third countries that began in the early hours of Friday, May 11, occur under Title 8 of the US immigration law and it contemplates two types: “deportations” and “voluntary returns”. “.
“This is the first time that the Government of Mexico has accepted returns of non-Mexican citizens at our land border under the Title 8 processes. And that has been working well in recent days,” said Blas Núñez-Neto, undersecretary for border policy. in the Department of Homeland Security.
Without providing a precise breakdown, Núñez-Neto confirmed to Grupo REFORMA that Mexican migrants are also included in the figure; He also previously assured that a good part of the migrants returned to Mexico since Friday include “voluntary returns.”
Unlike the “express expulsions” under Title 42 that did not have any criminal consequences for the undocumented, Title 8 does contemplate prohibitions from entering the US for up to 5 years and even prison for retrying to cross illegally.
According to what Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said last Friday, the maximum number of returned migrants per day that Mexico promised to receive after a bilateral agreement announced in May is a maximum of 30,000 returned migrants per month (around thousand per day).
Under the provisions of Title 8 but which previously only applied to Mexicans, the US government can offer a “voluntary return” to Mexico to migrants arrested while crossing the border or undergoing “deportation” processes that usually mean longer times.
In principle, irregular migrants could request asylum upon arrival in the US, but the Biden Administration has already begun to apply a new rule that prohibits those who have previously transited through a country where they could have sought such protection from applying for asylum in the US. previously.
Challenged in federal court in California by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the rule has come under heavy attack from immigrant advocacy activists but the Biden Administration hopes it may deter migrants from reaching its border. South.
Illegal crossing attempts drop in recent days, says US
Also today, the Administration assured that irregular crossing attempts from Mexico have been reduced by half in the last three days compared to the levels that had been detected in the three days prior to the termination of Title 42 at midnight on Thursday but avoided sing victory.
According to Undersecretary Núñez Neto, the total number of arrests at the border averaged less than 5,000 in the past three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), which means a drastic drop considering that in the three days prior to the end of the Title 42 was in force, an average of 10,000 arrests were recorded.
Previously, the US Department of Homeland Security had assured in official reports that it was not ruled out that daily arrests on the border with Mexico could even reach more than 13,000 a day, something that, however, did not materialize, at least for some reason. now.
In general comments today, Biden Administration officials thanked the López Obrador government for immigration control operations on the border with Mexico but avoided saying what they consist of.
