Official: Asylum seekers wait in Mexico as soon as Friday



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SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Trump administration will begin Friday to force some asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their case will be sent to US courts, said a senior official who will launch what could become one of the most important changes to the immigration system

The changes will take effect at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego, according to a US official familiar with the plan that announced Thursday under covered by anonymity because it is not yet definitive. San Ysidro is the busiest crossing point in the country and the choice of asylum seekers arrived in Tijuana, Mexico in November in a caravan of more than 6,000 migrants, mainly from Central America .

This policy, which should face a legal challenge, could be extended to other passages. It does not apply to children traveling alone or to asylum seekers from Mexico.

An almost finalized plan was developed during the bilateral talks held in Mexico City in recent days. He calls on US authorities to transport asylum seekers to the border for hearings in downtown San Diego, including an initial appearance within 45 days.

The Trump administration will make no arrangements for them to consult lawyers, who could visit clients in Tijuana or talk to them over the phone.

Officials will also begin processing only about 20 asylum applications per day at the San Diego border crossing, but plan to increase the number of applications processed to date, up to 100. per day, said the manager.

Forcing Mexican border towns. US border authorities processed 92,959 claims of "credible fear" – a first check for asylum to be considered – over a recent 12-month period, up 67 percent from the previous year. Many are families from Central America.

The "Staying in Mexico" policy is the latest initiative by President Donald Trump to reshape immigration policy, although it may prove temporary. The courts have blocked other important changes, including the ban on seeking asylum for people who cross the border illegally from Mexico and the rejection of domestic violence and gangs as a motive. d & # 39; asylum.

This is also a preliminary test of relations between two populists. Presidents Trump and Mexican Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office on December 1. Mexico has firmly rejected Trump 's request to pay for a border wall, leading the president to seek $ 5.7 billion from Congress in a stalemate that has partially shut down the government for more than a month.

The Mexican authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Roberto Velasquez, spokesman for the Mexican secretary for foreign affairs, said earlier this week that there would be no bilateral agreement and that Mexico was responding unilaterally -United. He said in an interview that the discussions covering "a very wide range of topics" aimed to prepare Mexico for change.

The outline of the plan was announced on December 20, but the details were not revealed until Thursday. Mexico announced last month that asylum seekers in the United States would obtain temporary humanitarian visas, while their case would be settled in the United States, which could take years and could ask for permission to work in Mexico.

Mexico began issuing humanitarian visas to the Center. Americans are another major caravan crossing the south of the country

While illegal crossings from Mexico are at historically low levels, the US has seen an increase in the number of asylum applications, especially families from Central America. Due to the lack of family detention space and the maximum length of detention of children set at twenty days by the court, they are usually released with notice to appear in an immigration court. With a backlog of more than 800,000 cases, the resolution of the case can take years.

It is not clear if Central Americans will be deterred from seeking asylum in the United States should they wait in Tijuana, a booming city with many jobs. . Tijuana fails to match US wages and asylum seekers generally have far fewer family ties than in the United States.

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Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection

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Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, sworn in before a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Customs Control and Border Protection of the United States" at Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Tuesday, December 11, 2018. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)

US President Donald Trump, accompanied by US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting Commissioner for Customs and Border Protection Kevin McAleenan (right), holds a meeting at the US Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center in Sterling, Virginia (USA), February 2, 2018. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst

Addresses for Nature Conservation Pleadings, Kevin McAleen, Custodian of the Hearing Evidence of the Parliamentary Committee on Crime and Security of Defense, Surveillance of Advertising and the Protection of Citizens' Justice December 11, 2018 in Washington. (AP Foto / Manuel Balce Ceneta)

United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and US Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Kevin McAleenan visit the border wall of US President Donald Trump in the El Centro area of ​​Calexico, California, United States, 26 October 2018. REUTERS / Earnie Grafton [19659024] The Speaker of the National Assembly, Kevin McAleenan, the Director General, the Director General, General Terrence O. Shaughnessy, at a news conference in the state Washington, 29 October 2018. The Pentagon has a status of approx. 5.200 euros frontera with México. (AP Foto / Susan Walsh)

Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Customs Control and Border Protection in the United States" at the Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Tuesday, December 11, 2018. (Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)

US Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Kevin McAleenan, right, expresses himself as Commander of the Command North American Aerospace Defense Command, Terrence John O. Shaughnessy, left, at a press conference in Washington on Monday, October 29, 2018, on the deployment of the Ministry of Defense on the south-western border. (Photo AP / Susan Walsh)

Kevin McAleenan, US Commissioner for Customs and Border Protection, meets with reporters at US Border Patrol Central Processing Center, Monday, June 25, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo / David J. Phillip)

United States. The Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Kevin McAleenan, speaks at a roundtable during a protest to greet US agents responsible for immigration and immigration. 39, customs enforcement (ICE) and customs officers and border protection (CBP) in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, August 20, 2018. (Photo AP / Andrew Harnik)

US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan arrives at a press conference on the Defense Ministry's plan to deploy forces at the Southwest Border to Customs Headquarters and Border Protection. United States in Washington, United States, October 29, 2018. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen listens to Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner of the US Customs and Border Patrol, during his visit on the frontier wall of the El Centro area in Calexico, California, United States, October 26, 2018. REUTERS / Earnie Grafton [19659031] HIDE CAPTION

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The forthcoming External Relations Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said that Mexico would coordinate with the United States on policy mechanisms, which would guarantee migrants access to information and legal services. Ebrard said on December 24 that he wanted more information to ensure "orderly and secure" protocols.

Rafael Fernandez de Castro, director of the Center for Studies on Mexico and the United States of the University of California at San Diego, said that Mexico had not yet done so . The impact on Mexican border cities has been fully taken into account.

"This could have lasting repercussions on Mexican border cities," said Fernandez de Castro. "We need to evaluate the potential number and know how to help them stay healthy.We do not have this assessment."

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Associated Press Editors Maria Verza in Mexico City and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to the writing of this report.

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