Washington (EFE)
Last January, border authorities carried out 128,410 arrests on the border with Mexico, compared to the more than 200,000 that were registered in December, which represents the lowest number since February 2021, reported the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ) this Friday.
In early January, the Biden Administration decided to expand a controversial health regulation, known as Title 42, to allow hot expulsions at the border of people from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti.
In addition to these three nationalities, Venezuelans also began to be expelled to Mexico under this restriction since last October.
Migrant arrests decreased
The decline in the number of arrests in January demonstrates that these restrictions “are working,” Acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement.
“These trends have continued through February, with the average number of arrests of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans plummeting,” he noted.
The January figures show a decrease of 85% in the arrests of Cubans, 91% of Nicaraguans and 32% of Haitians, compared to the December data.
The majority (69.5%) of those apprehended at the Mexican border in January were adults traveling alone, DHS revealed.
Title 42
The Biden administration’s use of Title 42 has been widely criticized by human rights organizations and even some members of the Democratic Party.
At the end of January, a group of 80 Democratic congressmen, led by Senator Robert Menéndez, asked the Executive to reverse the decision to expel people from Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti who cross the border with Mexico irregularly.
“Title 42 is a mockery of national and international law,” they wrote.
In parallel to the greater restrictions on the right to asylum at the border, the Biden Executive also created a program of humanitarian permits for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
In January, 11,637 migrants from these four countries entered the US under the program, which allows them to live and work legally in the country for a period of two years, according to the Government.
To apply for permission, people must have a sponsor who has immigration status in the US and demonstrates that they have the financial resources to support them for those two years.
The Biden government has defended itself against criticism of the use of Title 42, ensuring that it must continue to apply that regulation by order of the Supreme Court.
The rule, inherited from the term of former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021), has allowed more than 2.5 million expulsions of migrants since it came into effect in 2020, according to data from the International Rescue Committee organization.