USA, the new immigration rules / Who stays and who is deported?

2023-05-13 08:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States has begun implementing new restrictions on the country's southern border. The administration says it aims to stop immigrants from crossing the border illegally by encouraging them to apply for asylum through a new, secure process.

The changes come with the end of coronavirus-related restrictions that saw authorities reject asylum applications for three years. The restrictions had their origins in a 1944 law that allowed curbs on immigration in the name of protecting public health. They were put in place by former President Donald Trump's administration in March 2020. Authorities enjoyed the right to turn back immigrants at the US-Mexico border, under the pretext of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Before these restrictions were put in place, migrants could cross illegally, seek asylum and be allowed to enter the US. They were often released pending a review of their case.

USA, the new immigration rules / Who stays and who is deported?

The pandemic-related restriction gave officials the authority to deny immigrants the right to seek asylum, which over three years has happened more than 2.8 million times. But families and children traveling alone were excluded from the executive order.

Despite the restrictions in force, immigrants continued to enter the US territory.

After taking office, President Joe Biden kept the pandemic-related restrictions in place, but then in 2022, tried to lift them. Republicans sued the administration, arguing that the restrictions were necessary for border security. The courts ruled in favor of keeping this executive order in place. In January 2023, President Biden's administration announced that it was ending the national emergency related to the pandemic, which also paved the way for the lifting of border restrictions.

The new rules

Pandemic restrictions expired on Thursday, May 11. But the administration has put into effect a series of new rules to crack down on illegal border crossings. The administration says it is trying to stop smugglers, as well as the dangerous and often deadly journeys, for immigrants.

The consequences are expected to be severe. Immigrants who cross the border illegally will not be allowed to enter the US for five years and may face criminal prosecution if they attempt to do so.

Under US and international law, anyone who enters the United States has the right to seek asylum. Their cases are reviewed to determine whether there is credible evidence that they are at risk of becoming victims of persecution in their home country. The case then goes to immigration court to determine if they can stay in the United States, a process that can take years. Usually the review of the case takes place while the immigrants are allowed to remain freely within the US territory.

USA, the new immigration rules / Who stays and who is deported?

Thanks to the new rules, the Biden administration is already turning away anyone seeking asylum who did not first seek protection in a country they passed through before arriving on US soil, or who did not first apply online. This is a version of a decision made by Mr. Trump's administration but overturned by the courts. Minutes before the Biden administration's new rule took effect, immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit seeking to block it.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco by the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and other groups. The latter claim that the Biden administration reinforced the policy proposed by the Trump administration, the same policy that has been overturned by court order as they say. But the Biden administration says its new rule is entirely different from that of the previous administration.

Who is allowed to enter the US?

US authorities have said they will accept up to 30,000 people a month from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba, as long as they arrive by air, have a guarantor who pays for housing and financial aspects. theirs, and after they have first applied online. The government will also allow up to 100,000 people from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras who have family members in the United States, who must also have applied online first. Otherwise officials will deport them, including 30,000 people a month who have come from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba. Their return will be made by land through Mexico.

USA, the new immigration rules / Who stays and who is deported?

Another category of immigrants who will be allowed are those who will apply through "CBP One," an application of the Office of Field Operations, a federal law enforcement agency responsible for managing customs operations. Right now, only 740 people a day can use the app, a number that is growing to 1,000 a day.

What happens to immigrant families?

Families who cross the border illegally will be forced to stay indoors, according to the schedules set by the authorities. The head of the household will be obliged to wear a monitoring bracelet, attached to the ankle. Immigration officials must determine within 30 days whether a family can stay in the United States or be deported. But usually the process takes years.

USA, the new immigration rules / Who stays and who is deported?

The Biden administration first considered keeping the immigrant families in custody pending a preliminary review of their case, but instead opted to keep them locked up from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. The practice will begin soon in Baltimore, Chicago, Newark, New Jersey and Washington, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Families who fail to appear for interviews related to their asylum application will be deported.

Overcrowding of border centers

Border Patrol stations only have the capacity to temporarily house immigrants, not to handle the volume of people who arrive every day. Some of them are already overflowing. As a result, customs agents began to release immigrants into the US territory after instructing them to report to an immigration office within 60 days or face deportation. Agents were instructed to release immigrants in any area where detention facilities were over 125% of capacity or when the average length of time an immigrant was in custody exceeded 60 hours. Likewise, they were told to begin releasing immigrants if, in one day, 7,000 immigrants were detained across the border. This has already happened. Only on Tuesday, the number of detained immigrants reached about 10,000 people. This could create problems for Biden administration officials, who are trying to stop immigrants from entering the US territory.

USA, the new immigration rules / Who stays and who is deported?

Florida filed a lawsuit alleging the release of the immigrants violates an earlier court ruling. Late Thursday, a federal judge backed that stance and temporarily halted the administration's plan to release the immigrants. The Customs and Border Protection Agency said in a statement that it would comply with the court's order, but said the "decision is harmful and could lead to dangerous overcrowding at this center, while also reducing authorities' ability to process and evicted immigrants".

Immigration centers

US officials plan to open 100 regional migration centers across the Western Hemisphere, where people can seek asylum in other countries, such as Canada and Spain. Centers of this nature are expected to be in Colombia and Guatemala, but it is not clear where the other centers will be opened or when they will start operating./ VOA