Migration: Controversial deportation practice in the USA ended

Tens of thousands of migrants on the southern border of the USA fear for their future with great uncertainty.

With the lifting of the corona emergency in the United States, a controversial deportation practice that had made it possible to quickly reject migrants in previous years, citing the pandemic, ended that night. Many of the migrants from Central and South America had once hoped that the elimination of the so-called Title 42 regulation would give them better chances of being admitted to the USA, but are increasingly disillusioned. Because the US government has enacted numerous measures to counteract the rush at the border.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas tried again during the night to dampen false expectations. “The border is not open,” he said when the controversial deportation practice expired. From now on, people arriving at the border without using a legal route would be considered ineligible for asylum, he said. Those who did not use the available legal avenues to enter the United States would also face harsher consequences from now on. US President Joe Biden had previously said the situation at the border would remain “chaotic for a while”.

Deportations have so far been possible with reference to the pandemic

The Title 42 rule allows people to be barred from entering the United States if there is a public health threat from the introduction of diseases. In March 2020 – under the impression of the corona pandemic – the border protection authorities under the then US President Donald Trump were instructed to apply this rule. With reference to the pandemic, a quick and unbureaucratic rejection of migrants became possible – even before they could even apply for asylum.

2.8 million deportations are said to have taken place within three years under the Title 42 rule. The regulation was actually supposed to expire last year, but several US states, including Arizona and Texas, objected – and were right. The controversial deportation practice only ended when the Corona emergency ended.

Illegal entry attempts will now be punished

The US is now returning to the application of the so-called Title 8 regime. The administrative effort for the border guards is higher because migrants can no longer be deported without regular procedures. However, this does not necessarily mean that their chances of receiving a positive asylum decision will increase. At the same time, there are stricter rules: The Title 8 regulation provides for a five-year ban on re-entry in the event of an illegal immigration attempt. Fines and imprisonment can also be imposed. Many migrants also fear that in future they will not be deported to Mexico, but to their home countries.

App for registering with border authorities overloaded

In addition, the US government has issued a whole series of measures to reduce the crowds at the border. Migrants who want to go to the United States must use an app to book an appointment with the border authorities. However, only a limited number of appointments are made available and many people at the border report that the software is overloaded. The US government has also sent additional personnel to the border. Among other things, 1,500 soldiers are to help the authorities in the border region for 90 days with administrative tasks such as data entry and camp support.

At the end of April, the US government also announced that it would open migration centers in Colombia and Guatemala, among other places, and move the initial registration of asylum seekers there. In this way, they want to “spare” people the often dangerous journey to the US border.

Uncertainty about the new rules

According to US media reports, the number of migrants in northern Mexico hoping to enter the United States is currently 150,000. Because many find it difficult to assess the new rules, some tried to cross the border on Thursday and in the days before.

“There are rumors that the regulations are now becoming stricter and that we won’t get through that easily,” said a 24-year-old Mexican of the German Press Agency. She arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, across from San Diego, California, in March with her husband and two small children. According to the authorities, around 500 to 700 migrants arrived in Tijuana every day, more than twice as many as before. Hundreds have managed to climb a first wall on US soil in the past few days and are now waiting in an area before the second wall to face border security officials to have their cases reviewed.

Return impossible for many

“We pray to God that they will give us the opportunity to enter the country with an appointment. We do not want to enter illegally,” said a Venezuelan woman. The 55-year-old is afraid of being deported to her country. “We don’t have a plan B yet, but we don’t want to go back to Venezuela.”

Tijuana migrant shelters are full. The situation is similar in border towns like Ciudad Juárez, where 40 migrants died in a fire at an INM collection center in March. In the south of Mexico, too, thousands of people are waiting for entry documents in order to legally go north through the country. The local facilities that take care of the migrants are preparing for the hard days – and stocking up on water, blankets and medicine.