The United States tightens controls on the border with Mexico and blocks the entry of illegal immigrants

President Joe Biden’s administration announced Thursday that it will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the US-Mexico border illegally, a major expansion of the current mechanism that it already prevents the passage of Venezuelans trying to enter American soil.

Instead, the White House announced it would accept 30,000 people a month from all four nations for two years and offer them the ability to work legally, as long as they are legalhave eligible sponsors and pass background checks.

The citizens of these four nations are among those who have increased the most border crossings of migrants. And there is no easy way to get migrants back to their home countries quickly.

It’s about a massive change in immigration rulesand will continue even if the US Supreme Court ends a public health law by President Donald Trump that allowed US authorities to turn away asylum seekers.

The new policy could result in 360,000 people from these four nations entering the United States legally in one year. Today, however, far more people from those countries are attempting to cross American soil on foot. Just in November, there was 82,286 detained migrants of those four countries.

The Biden administration has had problems in managing the growing number of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border and has been reluctant to take hard-line measures that would resemble those of the Trump administration.

This has led to a barrage of criticism from Republicans, who say the Democratic president is ineffective on border security.

Biden was expected to discuss changes to his border policy in a speech later Thursday. This weekend he’s going to El Paso, Texas, his first trip to the southern border as president, ahead of a planned visit to Mexico City on Monday to meet with heads of that country and Canada.

According to the White House, Mexico has agreed to accept up to 30,000 migrants a month of the four countries attempting to cross the US-Mexico border on foot or by swimming.

Donald Trump’s legacy

During Trump’s presidency, the US required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico, but massive delays in the US immigration system created long delaysleading to fetid and dangerous border camps, where migrants were forced to wait.

That system ended up under the Biden presidency and the migrants who are currently being repatriated will not be able to receive asylum.

Cubans, who have been leaving the island in large numbers over six decades, were detained 34,675 times at the US-Mexico border in November, up 21 percent from 28,848 times in October.

Nicaraguans, one of the main reasons El Paso became the busiest corridor for illegal crossing, were stopped 34,209 times, up 65 percent from 20,920 times in October.

But far fewer Venezuelans were seen after Mexico agreed on Oct. 12 to start accepting those expelled by the United States. They were arrested 7,931 times, 64% fewer than in October (22,045).

Source: AP

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