The issue of irregular immigration along the Southern border has been a significant challenge for the Biden Administration, leading to controversy and divided opinions within the country, that transcend transcending the typical Republican-Democrat divide. Despite the internal conflicts, the U.S. government has implemented programs that offer conditional freedom to reside and work in the country for certain immigrants.
The Biden Administration considers these programs as the only solution to address controlled and humanitarian migration. To understand why, it is essential to look at the immigration numbers from 2019 to date. Let's take a closer look!
Irregular immigration in the United States before COVID-19
According to reports from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there has been a fluctuation in the number of migrants detained at the southern border of the US in recent years. In 2018, Mexico's National Immigration Institute recorded 396,579 arrests. In 2019, this number increased to 859,501 migrants.
However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on migration to the USA. The number of attempts of illegal entry through southern borders reduced to 405,036 during this period, due to restrictions on people's mobility because of the coronavirus and the application of the Health Migration Policy named Title 42, according to CBP reports.
Title 42
Title 42 was an immigration measure taken in March 2020 during the administration of former President Donald Trump. This measure allowed authorities to expel migrants who crossed the border illegally for health reasons. The order was issued by the Centers for the Control and Prevention of Diseases (CDC) to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
At first, unaccompanied minors were exempt from this measure, but in November 2020, it was determined that unaccompanied minors should also be deported. This measure generated intense international controversy, with reports of thousands of children and vulnerable adults being expelled without regard for their safety or well-being.
Human Rights First published that as of December 2022, they had followed up on more than 13,480 reports of murder, torture, kidnapping, rape, and other violent attacks against migrants and asylum seekers blocked or expelled to Mexico due to the order Title 42.
Immigration crisis intensification
Joe Biden's ascension to the presidential chair meant a relaxation of immigration measures taken in the previous administration. However, this led to a new increase in illegal migrants intercepted at the border.
Let us take a look at the numbers:
- In the 2021 fiscal year, CBP arrested 1,662,167 migrants illegally crossing the border.
- At the end of the 2022 fiscal year, there were 2.4 million encounters with immigrants, which was the highest number of encounters in any fiscal year on record.
- In 2022, for the first time, the majority of immigrants were from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaraguans. This also was an unusual rate in immigration statistics.
- Deaths on the border also increased. In fiscal year 2022, according to CNN en Español, there were more than 22,000 searches and rescues along the U.S. southern border. According to him Department of Homeland Security, more than 830 migrants died on the southern border of the United States this year. This represented a historic value, compared to 2019 (300 deaths) and 2020 (247 deaths).
Fights for removing the order Title 42
The first attempt to change the course of order Title 42 was in July 2021, when a federal judge ruled that unaccompanied migrant minors could not be expelled from the U.S. while their asylum was being processed.
In 2021 the U.S. government faced many legal demands for removing Title 42 under human rights reasons. The US Government faced a trial in December 2022 to remove Title 42, which had been a contentious issue. However, the Government sought solutions to the possible effects of the elimination of this immigration measure.
Finally, on May 11, 2023, the Government announced that Title 42 would be removed. Though eliminating Title 42 represented a new immigration problem, That night many migrants stalled camps in front of gates of border points hoping to get into American territory.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the maximum representative of DHS, announced that the removal of Title 42 did not mean that the United States borders were open, but rather that "those who illegally cross the borders and have no basis to remain will be deported immediately and could be punished with a minimum ban of five years to re-enter and a possible criminal process."
Solutions Attempt for the immigration crisis in U.S
Immigration overview today is very complex in the U.S. It seams that definitive economic soubstanable solutions are not convining easily with ethics and humans approaches. Furthermore, US. government affronts something even more complicated: achieving a way to control immigration respecting the rights of migrants and reducing the human traffick and deaths in border.
For thaat reason, Biden Administration has implemented programs like"humanitarian parole" and political asylum to address irregular immigration. These programs offer temporary legal residence and work permits to certain immigrants that can manage a financial sponsor living in U.S. This person will represent them and exempt the state from major responsibilities.
To further facilitate access to temporary asylum, the Department of Homeland Security has implemented a process where migrants can be evaluated by a group of security officers at the Ports of Entry (POE) of the USA. To schedule appointments, CBP-One App is available. This ensures that the Immigration and Nationality Law is enforced while giving migrants a fair opportunity to apply for temporary asylum respecting those which is stempt in the Human Rights Declarations.
