Transaction with Mexico paves way for an overhaul of asylum at the US border

Even if they fear the agreement will fall apart, the US authorities see it as a potential advance that could discourage the migration and the formation of additional caravans from Central America and crossing Mexico to reach the United States. . They quietly engaged in sensitive talks with senior Mexican officials to provide a diplomatic counterweight to President Trump's threats and ultimatums.

Alarmed by Trump's deployment of US military forces in California, Arizona, and Texas, and his threat of closing high-profile border crossings, Mexican officials were determined to take action after migrants traveling in connection with the United States. 39, a caravan forced themselves onto Mexican soil last month. past blockade of the police at the border with Guatemala.

The prospect of keeping thousands of asylum-seekers in Central America for months, if not years, in Mexican border states dominated by a drug cartel – some of the most violent in the country – has worried Human rights defenders and others who fear that such a plan will place migrants at risk for their legitimate right to seek asylum.

"We have not seen any specific proposal, but any policy that would leave people stranded in Mexico would inevitably put people at risk," said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU lawyer whose team has won several legal victories against the Trump government's immigration initiatives in recent months. .

"The administration must focus on establishing a fair and legal asylum procedure in the United States rather than inventing more and more ways to try to bypass it," said M Gelernt.

The measures could also lead to legal challenges, although Mr Gelernt said it was too early to decide on a possible dispute.

The agreement was reached last week in Houston at a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's new foreign minister, and senior US officials, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Security Kirstjen Nielsen, according to US and Mexican officials.

Nielsen has been fighting to keep his post since the end of the session and, although Trump has announced to his aides that he is considering replacing her, the president has congratulated her this week for "trying".

[U.S. to force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while cases are processed]

Dozens of US asylum officers have been sent to San Diego, where they will begin implementing procedures in the coming days or weeks, according to officials at the Department of Homeland Security. As part of these procedures, asylum seekers arriving at the border will be assigned a first selection interview to determine if they are exposed to imminent danger by remaining in Mexico.

US officials describing the system under the guise of anonymity said that they would be able to process at least twice as many asylum applications today as they would not be limited by retention space constraints at US entry points. The San Ysidro entrance port in the San Diego area accepts about 60 to 100 asylum applications a day.

Nearly 5,000 Americans from Central America arrived in Tijuana this month as part of caravan groups. Several thousand more are en route to the city, where a baseball field has been turned into a swollen tented camp. The mayor of the city said Friday a "humanitarian crisis" and said taxpayers in the city would not pay the bill for the care of migrants.

A group of city business leaders said it has thousands of jobs in the city's assembly plants, or maquiladoras, inviting Central American migrants to work in the factories. Although wages are only a small fraction of the wages paid to the United States, Mexican officials said the labor supply was one of the reasons they believe the Rest of Mexico plan will succeed. Across the country, 100,000 jobs are available for asylum seekers in Central America, officials said.

"We want them to be included in society, to integrate into society, to accept the job offer we offer them," Sánchez Cordero said. "That they feel supported by Mexico in this very vulnerable situation."

Two key members of López Obrador's transition team said the agreement would formalize what is already happening. By admitting so few people into the asylum procedure, the United States is already uses Mexico as antechamber.

Statistics on immigration to the United States show that about 80% of Central Americans spend a superficial interview "credible fear" after their arrival in the United States, but less than 10% are finally granted credit. asylum by a judge. The number of cases pending before US immigration courts has reached 750,000, giving many unskilled asylum seekers a chance to stay in the country for several years see a judge.

According to Homeland Security officials, this loophole constitutes a "loophole" that has provoked an avalanche of unfounded asylum applications, offering claimants a way to live and work in the United States for years.

The agreement could, however, inadvertently multiply attempts to cross the border illegally by discouraging asylum seekers from getting closer to the authorities. entry points. Monday, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration's attempt to render it ineligible asylum ones who are crossing illegally, saying that US laws protect everyone who reaches the American soil.

Last month, the number of people arrested in the United States along the Mexican border or attempting to enter without authorization exceeded 60,000, the highest percentage of the Trump presidency.

For months, US authorities have sought an agreement with Mexico that would force asylum seekers to wait south of the border or make those crossing the country ineligible for humanitarian protection in the United States. They saw the agreement as a critical step in stopping the sharp rise in the number of asylum applications, which have quadrupled since 2014.

A version of the plan, known as the "safe third" agreement, was discussed at length with the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto. This would have prevented Americans from Central America from seeking asylum in the United States on the grounds that they would no longer be persecuted after arriving in Mexico. But López Obrador's overwhelming July 1 victory shattered the plans, and experienced members of his transitional team say a "safe third" is a non-starter.

The Mexican authorities consider that the Stay in Mexico plan is more acceptable. That would not lock them into a long-term formal agreement. Several Mexican officials privately acknowledge that border states in the country are not actually safe. US State Department travel warnings also urge US visitors to avoid several border states in Mexico.

US officials involved in the talks said that Mexico had not asked for financial assistance to implement the procedures, which could result in significant costs if asylum seekers had to wait for months, even years. They described the agreement as a collaboration and senior officials of both governments insisted that it was not imposed in Mexico.

US and Mexican officials said they hoped the agreement would pave the way for broader regional cooperation aimed at boosting job creation in Central America.

"Our engagement with Mexico is above all based on mutual respect and the commitment to work together to find creative solutions to our common challenges," said Kimberly Breier, senior official of the state department responsible for the country. Mexico and Latin America. in the talks.

"As neighbors and friends, the United States and Mexico are committed to strengthening their cooperation to advance the security and economic well-being of citizens of both countries on the basis of common interests and respect the sovereignty of each country and the rule of law, "said Breier. in a report.

In Mexico for decades, López Obrador has kept his populist promises to fight corruption and help the poor. Many US officials have assumed that it would bring a more confrontational approach to Trump and the United States. During the campaign, he generally criticized Trump, repeatedly expressing his desire to build positive relationships.

Sometimes, however, he offered harsh assessments: he called Trump "neo-fascist" last year while he was preparing for his campaign and he later stated that the Mexican government had made the "dirty" Washington 's job by taking the Central Americans.

Since his victory in July, López Obrador and Trump have exchanged compliments. Sánchez Cordero said the transitional team's interactions with the Trump administration had been "surprisingly cordial".

"Trump was very friendly, very courteous and cordial with President López Obrador," Sánchez Cordero said. "The relationship went very well."

US asylum officers and other immigration officials who began receiving advice this week on the implementation of Rest in Mexico have been informed that the procedure could take effect soon, but senior officials of both Governments stated: key details remain unresolved.

US authorities want to deploy the program at the San Diego border crossing to attack caravans that have become a source of frustration for Trump, but they plan to extend it to five or seven additional passages along the US-Mexico border. Senior US officials have said they want more guarantees on how Mexico intends to ensure the safety of asylum seekers and ensure that they are not sent back to Central America before settling their claim for asylum. # 39; asylum.

After an initial fear check at the point of entry, the asylum seeker would wait for his appearance in court, before an immigration judge. The asylum seeker would then be escorted by US officers to a federal courthouse, but would eventually return to Mexico if the judge failed to make an immediate decision on the application.

Under the rules, an applicant whose asylum application is refused would not be allowed to return to Mexico. Instead, the person would remain in the custody of the United States and risk immediate deportation to his country of origin.