The immigration decrees that President Biden signed at the start of his administration to dismantle his predecessor’s ‘zero tolerance’ policies have had a knock-on effect on thousands of families and unaccompanied minors arriving at the southwestern border of the United States. Despite the fact that the new government has asked the migrants not to come because “the situation at the border has not changed”.
According to these sources New families pile up every day in the border towns of Mexico, sleeping on the street or under bridges and in some places migrant camps have been set up.
Unaccompanied Minors
In the past months, the number of unaccompanied minor immigrants arriving across the border is increasing, a challenge to the new government’s immigration plans.
According to a report by USA Today, the number of unaccompanied minors referred to the US Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in charge of caring for them once they cross the border, increased from 1,530 in October to 3,364 in December, an increase of 120%. The January issues are not yet available.
According to this agency, which currently only has 7,971 foster beds due to the limitations of the coronavirus, there are only 2,700 beds left, as 5,200 are occupied.
“It is really essential that the Biden administration lives up to its commitment to fair and humane treatment of immigrants at the border,” he said. USA Today Lisa Koop, deputy director of legal services for the National Center for Immigrant Justice, a legal advocacy group representing migrant minors.
New Mexican Law
The increase in the number of unaccompanied minors or families entering the country is also related to a new law that Mexico started to implement in recent days that prohibits migrants under the age of 12 from being held in custody by their government, namely why it no longer accepts that families with small children or directly the minors are returned to the country only under the policy of ‘Wait in Mexico’.
This law, passed in November, is enforced in some parts of the Texas border and requires the United States to stay with these families or children, as they cannot return them to Mexico, which the Border Patrol has been common for. Releasing some of them to join their family or relatives in the United States, reported The New York Times.
Accommodation problems
While President Biden has reversed several of his predecessor’s harsh immigration policies since his early tenure, implementing comprehensive reforms can take time. Meanwhile, migrants, including unaccompanied minors, continue to arrive and the means and facilities for their housing become a major demand, especially during a pandemic.
In a desperate measure, Biden’s government announced the reopening of a so-called temporary ‘inflow center’ in Carrizo Springs, Texas, to house 700 migrant children over the next two weeks. Minors must be over 13 years old and have a negative Covid-19 test. The use of these facilities is controversial as it is assumed to be temporary and therefore does not have the same conditions and the same supervision or permit requirements as the regular MRO centers for the reception of minor migrants.
“We are more than capable of sending resources to the border to treat these children in a humane and fair way without sending them to the inflow centers or letting them languish in (border patrol) facilities,” he added.
“For legal service providers like us, those places (welfare centers) are like black holes,” said Lisa Koop USA Today.
To Wendy Young, another expert quoted that way, although they are not ideal, the alternative of welfare centers is preferable to Border Patrol facilities, deportations or waiting in Mexico. For Young, chair of Kids in Need of Defense, a group that defends immigrant and refugee children, the Biden administration is working to reverse Trump’s policies and try to process more migrants of a more human form.
Now is not the time “
Faced with this new increase in irregular arrivals, the Biden government last week warned immigrants who came to seek asylum or who are considering starting the journey from their country not to do so, as “the situation at the border has not changed. . “
The warning was issued by Roberta Jacobson, appointed by the president to lead border affairs and restore asylum policies, which have undergone profound changes over the past four years.
“I want to speak directly to immigrants and families who are now on their way to the United States or who are thinking about this trip: the situation at the border has not changed,” he said.
“Now is not the time to arrive,” he added. “The procedures for entering the United States will not change overnight, and travel is especially dangerous during a pandemic.”
The diplomat, who was an ambassador to Mexico during the Barack Obama administration, added that the Biden administration is “committed to a fair, orderly and humane border process, but it will take time.”
But desperation is mounting among the asylum seekers waiting in Mexico, some since 2019. Amid suspicion and false rumors spreading on social media, many decide to try to cross illegally instead of waiting for their asylum procedure. Many of these rumors are promoted by human traffickers looking to capitalize on the confusion.
