The US prepares its border for the imminent end of Title 42, the returns of Trump

The United States is preparing for the change in its immigration policy that will bring the end this Thursday (at 00:00 on May 12, Washington time) of Title 42, the legislation implemented by the government of former President Donald Trump during the pandemic that allowed hot returns at the borders.

Title 8, the one that existed previously, comes into force again this Thursday, an immigration policy to which the president, Joe Biden, has made some changes that only seek to regularize the situation: “What we are doing now is making the migration more agile legal, and shorter illegal migration (…), so that people know that there is a legal way to get here and another that is not”.

Biden has assured this Friday, one day before the end of the controversial rule of the Trump era, that all they want is for “the borders to work properly and as they are designed.”

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has also tried to clarify doubts about the measures that will Alexander Mayorkas, who explained in a press conference this Wednesday that they are trying to have more direct communication with migrants who intend to travel to the United States.

“We are making it very clear that our borders are not open, that crossing irregularly is against the law and that those who do not meet the requirements to receive help will be returned quickly,” he said at the presentation of a digital campaign -in Spanish- aimed at migrants with images of people being deported from the country.

During his appearance, he also personally sent a direct message to the migrants, asking that they “do not believe the lies, do not listen to the traffickers”, and making it clear that “this will be what happens to you: you will be sent back”.

What are Biden’s new measures?

Government officials have announced this Wednesday new security measures for people who are “eligible for expedited expulsion”, a “comprehensive, multi-agency and multinational plan based on law enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy to humanely manage the border “.

As part of this new regulation, families who may be deported but who express their intention to request asylum or who present credible reasons why they could be in danger in their countries of origin, will be able to be attended more quickly.

Even so, until the time of their visit, they will have to adhere to a curfew and will wear a trackable anklet to be monitored. Furthermore, if their asylum request is finally denied, they will be deported in less than 30 days.

People who are detected between various crossing points on the border will also be deported at that time – a hot return. In addition, migrants who have not applied for asylum in a third country -for example, if they have crossed from a Central American country to Mexico and from there to the United States- will not have the right to do so in the United States.

These measures are in addition to those already announced in recent weeks by the Government, which reported the opening of Processing Centers in several Latin American countries, with the aim that migrants receive advice before starting the irregular path, in order to find out about the legal channels. .

Record figures

In recent days, hundreds and even thousands of people have gathered at different points along the southern border of the United States with Mexico, some waiting for the clock to strike midnight on the appointed day to try to cross at that moment, while others they try to cross it before the police presence in the area is increased.

The authorities have confirmed that this Tuesday the number of people who crossed the border irregularly was 11,000 migrants, with processing centers in US border cities saturated.

In fact, this Wednesday several dozen people who are already in the US city of El Paso (Texas) have been transferred to other centers in the interior of the country, in an effort to free this point before the foreseeable entry of more people. .

In addition, the media present in the area report an increasing number of people at points such as the Mexican crossing of Ciudad Juárez, on the border with El Paso, where they face temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius with hardly any places in the shade, and where very strong winds have caused a sandstorm in the area that has lasted for several hours.