The United States Government has announced that it will begin to admit the thousands of asylum seekers who remain on the other side of the border with Mexico, in a new step back from the immigration policy adopted by the previous Administration, chaired by Donald Trump.
The Trump Administration tightened measures in 2019 to prevent asylum seekers from remaining in the United States pending the resolution of their case, within a zero-tolerance policy that Biden has promised to progressively shelve.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that on February 19 the first phase of this new plan will begin, which will allow to begin to process those who are in Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP, for its acronym in English), which it would open the doors of the United States for some 25,000 people.
These migrants will be able to access a virtual registry, according to the US government, which has urged all of them to remain where they are pending further instructions. In this sense, he stressed that they should not approach the border for the moment.
The Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, has admitted that the changes in the border “will take time”, but has explained that, with initiatives like the one announced this Friday, the Biden Administration demonstrates its commitment to “rebuild a safe, orderly immigration system. and human. “
“Individuals who are not eligible under this initial phase should wait for further instructions and not travel to the border. Due to the pandemic, the border restrictions are maintained and will be applied,” Mayorkas explained in his statement, referring to the cases in which they had not been returned to Mexico under the MPP or do not have active cases in court.
The North American Executive has also clarified in its note that the announcement cannot be interpreted “as an invitation for people to migrate irregularly to the United States, nor as a free way outside of health measures. The individuals who benefit of the new program will be tested to detect possible cases of COVID-19 before their entry.
Biden also repealed on Thursday the national emergency decreed in February 2019 by his predecessor to obtain funds with which to pay for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico, since he “had no guarantees.”
