Immigration: US government prepares for influx of migrants
immigration
US government prepares for influx of migrants
With the expiration of an immigration rule during the pandemic, the US expects more migrants. Photo: Carlos A. Moreno/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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During the corona pandemic, the USA largely restricted immigration to their country with a regulation. Now this expires – and the government is preparing for more migrants.
A month before a pandemic-related sweeping immigration restriction on the southern border with Mexico is lifted, the US government is preparing for a rush of migrants in front.
It can be assumed that “the number of migrants will increase”, especially since smugglers are likely to abuse the new situation for their own purposes, according to a memorandum by Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday. The pandemic regulation is scheduled to expire on May 23.
Border police staff increased
The staff of the Border Protection Police (CBP) has been increased by around 600 officers to around 23,000 employees, it said. In addition, the tasks of around 500 officers were taken over by civilian employees in order to have further reinforcements available for the “crucial task of border protection”. The capacity to hold illegally entered migrants in custody has increased from around 13,000 places a year ago to 18,000 now. As of May 23, migrants at 24 CBP centers would also corona-Tests and vaccinations offered, the ministry said.
The US health authority CDC announced at the end of March that it would abolish the regulation known as “Title 42”, which enabled the authorities to quickly deport most migrants who had entered the country illegally. In March, around 107,000 people were deported as a result of the regulation, according to CBP data. Mayorkas has stressed that the abolition of the regulation does not amount to carte blanche for migrants. Immigration law will be “strictly” implemented. The examination of asylum applications should also be accelerated.
The ministry acknowledged on Tuesday that a “significant” increase in the number of arriving migrants is likely to put “considerable” pressure on the existing system of border management. The system can only be fundamentally changed by the legislature. “We are working with a fundamentally broken immigration system that only Congress can fix,” it said.
