Undocumented immigrants’ crossings at the United States border with Mexico dropped by 50% following the removal of Title 42, a removal policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Security Secretary said this on Sunday. Alexander Mayorkas.
In an interview with ABC, the head of immigration policy said, “We have been preparing for this change for months and months and we have consistently executed our plan.”
Following the end of the health emergency last Thursday night, the United States stopped enforcing Title 42, which deports undocumented immigrants without the possibility of requesting asylum under the pretext of the pandemic, but other restrictions at the border Installed and started deporting. Through another regulation known as Title 8.
At the start of the week, officers arrested around 11,000 migrants daily, but the number of arrests fell to 6,200 on Friday and 4,400 on Saturday after the new immigration measures were put in place.
How did the end of Title 42 affect immigration in the United States?
“The United States Border Patrol has seen a nearly 50% drop in the number of people apprehended at our southern border compared to the number earlier in the week before Title 42 expired,” Mayorkas said.
The official recalled that from now on all people who cross the border without an immigration permit or without requesting asylum in the countries through which they passed will be deported quickly and if they commit the crime again , then they will be banned from entering the United States. five years.
“In fact, we have already evacuated thousands of people coming to our southern border. We are enforcing our immigration laws under Title 8,” he said.
Despite the new restrictions, Mayorkas denied that President Joe Biden’s immigration policy is similar to that of his predecessor Donald Trump (2017–2021), saying the current administration has implemented the largest expansion of legal channels for immigration. Have done United States in History.
The secretary said that the government has a humanitarian obligation to respond to asylum requests, but also a responsibility to combat the networks of people smugglers who charge money to transport migrants across the border.
Mayorkas also said the government would appeal against a decision by a Florida judge who on Thursday struck down the policy that allowed some migrants from overcrowded detention centers to be released. This is even though they have not yet had an immigration court date.
“We are bound to abide by the verdict. We respect him, but we disagree with the judge. We believe that this is a very harmful norm,” said the secretary. He also said that all the administrations have released the migrants when the centers were full.
