Immigration rights advocates are calling on the new Biden administration to fulfill its “obligations” to asylum seekers – as a caravan of thousands of Hondurans headed for the US border.
“We recognize the importance of the new United States government which has shown a strong commitment to migrants and asylum seekers, providing an opportunity for the governments of Mexico and Central America to develop policies and migration management that respect human rights and promote. of the mobility population, ”said Pueblo Sin Fronteras in a statement from Fox News.
“We will make a case for the Biden government to honor its commitments.”
The statement comes as more than 1,000 people from a Honduran caravan moved to Guatemala on Friday. The caravan, with more than 5,000 people in total, could be the first to reach the US border after Biden took office.
Pueblo Sin Fronteras called on Biden to work with the Mexican government and Central American countries to tackle the causes of illegal immigration.
Biden’s government must “dismantle illegal and inhumane programs such as Remain in Mexico, the United States’ cooperation agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as the title 42 expulsions by the US authorities,” he said.
Thanks to the Title 42 program, customs and border protection officers can immediately deport anyone who crosses the border illegally to the country of last transit.
Staying in Mexico, implemented in January 2019, requires US asylum seekers to remain in the country while waiting for their case to be heard by US immigration courts.
The Biden administration has promised a more humane approach to illegal migrants and a reversal of some of President Trump’s most controversial policies – but has warned that the changes won’t happen overnight.
“Our priority is to reopen border asylum processing in accordance with the capacity to do so safely and to protect public health, especially in the context of COVID-19,” said Biden policy adviser Susan Rice in a recent interview with the US. Spanish telephone service FFE. .
“This effort will begin immediately, but it will take months to develop the capacity we will need to fully reopen.”