Migrants attempting to cross the US-Mexico border were at the greatest rate in two decades. The US prepares for even larger numbers as a pandemic-era restriction barring asylum applicants is due to lift.
According to figures released on Monday by US Customs and Border Protection, immigration officers stopped migrants 221,303 times along the Southwest border in March. It is up 33% over the previous month.
The new data was revealed as the Biden administration faces mounting pressure over the impending expiration of the public health order. It allowed US officials to deport most migrants, including those seeking asylum from persecution.
Since President Joe Biden took office, the number of migrant encounters has increased nearly every month. Thereby, giving political opponents ammunition to claim that this administration is weaker on border security than its predecessor.
The increase of migrants is partly due to a backlog of people waiting outside the country to seek refuge. It is also due to severe economic and political conditions throughout most of Latin America and the Caribbean. Critics of the administration point the finger at Biden. Thus, claiming that his administration’s efforts to reverse Trump-era restrictions have enticed people to come.
Title 42
Former President Donald Trump also saw a spike in migrant border crossings. But the number dropped dramatically after the pandemic began. The previous administration used Title 42, a rarely used public health power. It was to promptly remove practically everyone encountered along the Southwest border in March 2020.
Using the threat of COVID-19 to deny migrants a chance to seek asylum as required by US law and international treaties, US officials have removed migrants more than 1.7 million times under Title 42 authority, named after a 1944 public health statute.
With COVID-19 cases on the decline, the Biden administration has announced that Title 42 will phase out at the border on May 23.
Several moderate Democrats have joined Republican leaders in calling for the extension of the Title 42 power. Last week, Arizona Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly, who is running for re-election this year, toured the border. He warned that the Biden administration is not ready if asylum rules actually lift.
Human rights organizations and other migrant activists argue that the United States has a legal obligation to allow people to seek asylum. It has appealed for the lifting of the public health order. “The United States can and must welcome people seeking asylum because it is the law, because it is right, and because we can,” the Catholic Legal Immigration Network said in a statement Monday to mark Holy Week.
Spike
The recent rises are largely due to the quick expulsions under Title 42. Migrants are turned back without facing any legal consequences. Many simply try to cross again, resulting in several counts in the total.
According to CBP, the number of unique persons encountered nationally in March was 159,900, up 37% from the previous month.
According to data provided to a federal court in Texas as part of that state’s challenge of Biden administration immigration policies, more than half of the total 221,303 stopped had to quickly turn away without getting an opportunity to apply for asylum, either in Mexico or in their home countries.
Commissioner Chris Magnus of CBP stated in a statement that the agency planned to send more personnel to the Southwest border. It is to deal with the “likely” spike that will occur if Title 42 lifts.
Most of the rest were processed under Title 8 immigration authorities, and their eventual fate varies. About 34,000 people received a permit to stay in the United States on parole. Thereby, allowing them to seek asylum or legal status through alternative channels. They may face deportation if they are unsuccessful.
Mexicans were the largest group of persons at the border by nationality, followed by Cubans. From just five in November, the number of Ukrainians allowed into the nation on humanitarian parole soared to almost 200 in March.
