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Asylum seekers forced to stay in Mexico while their case is being resolved in the United States will be admitted in the United States from next weekannounced this Friday the government of Joe Biden.
In early February, Biden ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take action to end the controversial Migrant Protection Program (MPP) instituted by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
This agreement forced tens of thousands of asylum seekers to remain at the border awaiting the resolution of their case, triggering a humanitarian crisis in the area exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Starting February 19, DHS will begin the first phase of a program to restore safe and orderly border processing,” this body announced in a statement that it will start with the people forced to stay in Mexico under the agreements (MPP).
To restore the process of people on the border with Mexico, DHS will begin treating the cases of approximately 25,000 people who have active cases under the MPP program. The NGO American Immigration Council estimates that from January 2019, when the program began to run, until December 2020, at least 70,000 people had been returned to Mexico under the MPP agreements.
The US authorities stressed that they are working very closely with the Mexican government and with international organizations and NGOs at the border. Because of the pandemic, people being transferred to the United States will first be tested for coronavirus, a senior DHS official who asked not to be identified told the press.
– “Don’t travel to the border” –
The DHS Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, being the first Latino and the first immigrant to lead this department, emphasized the United States government’s commitment to “rebuilding a safe, orderly and humane immigration system.”
“This latest action is another step in our commitment to reform immigration policies that are inconsistent with our country’s values”Mayorkas said in a statement. This controversial program was part of Trump’s plan to fight illegal immigration, following the massive caravans of late 2018 and early 2019.
Trump had the fight against irregular immigration as one of the hallmarks of his administration throughout his presidency, including his tenacious efforts to build a border wall and plans such as the “zero tolerance policy” that separated thousands of migrant families. After Biden took office on January 20, his administration announced it will reverse the most controversial measures and created a task force to reunite families who remain separated, a policy it described as “a shame.”
VIDEO: AMLO spoke about Biden’s immigration policy
On the same day as Biden’s inauguration, DHS announced the suspension of new registrations in the MPP program and asked all registrants “Stay where you are” waiting to be informed about their affairs.
The US government reported this Friday that those waiting “should not take any action at this time” and will be informed and warned that “those who are not candidates for this phase of the program should wait for further instructions and not to the border.”
With information from AFP
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