White House softens after threat to close border with Mexico

WASHINGTON / NEW YORK (Reuters) – The White House receded on Tuesday over the threat of the US border closure with Mexico, even as the redeployment of border agents has resulted in a slowdown in the number of legal crossings. trade in the United States ports of entry there.

Sarah Sanders, White House spokeswoman, said the Trump administration believed that Mexico "would involve more and assume a greater sense of responsibility" in managing immigration flows. which, according to US authorities, are key entry points along the border.

"They started doing a lot more. We have seen them capture more people "and retain asylum seekers in Mexico while they are being treated in the United States, Sanders told reporters at the White House.

"We also saw them stop more people from crossing the border, even preventing them from entering the United States. So, these two things are certainly useful and we would like to see them continue, "said Sanders.

Trump has threatened Friday to close the border this week unless Mexico takes action to prevent immigrants from illegally reaching the United States. Closing the border could disrupt millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade.

Trump hinted at easing earlier in a Twitter post on Tuesday. "After many years (decades), Mexico apprehends a large number of people on the southern border, mainly Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador," he said.

Sanders said the administration "was looking at all options to close the various entry points, what does it look like and what would be the impacts."

She told Fox News that the administration wanted Mexico to continue its efforts to solve the problem, adding that she had undertaken studies on the impact of closing various points of sale. entrance to give Trump some options.

BORDER LOWER

Senior officials from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Tuesday that the redeployment of some 750 officers at the border to cope with an upsurge of immigrants – mostly families from Central America turned into agents border – had led to a slowdown in legal passage and trade at entry points.

"In Brownsville (Texas), the wait time was about 180 minutes, twice as much as last year," said a senior DHS official during a conversation. telephone with journalists. "We finished the day yesterday in Otay Mesa (California) with a backup copy of 150 trucks that had not been processed yet," said the manager. "It's a reality."

DHS officials said at the call that the border facilities were submerged by families unable to expel quickly because they hoped to seek asylum in the United States.

Customs and border protection authorities in the United States estimated that about 100,000 migrants would be apprehended or met at the border in March, the highest level in a decade. "The system is on fire," said a DHS official.

Because of the limitations on the legal length of detention of children, many families are being released pending hearings of the US Immigration Court, a process that may take years due to the fact that they are being held. increasing backlog.

In an attempt to solve the problem, the administration in late January began sending migrants back to Mexico to await the appearance of their US court in the border towns of Mexico. On Monday, the DHS said it would significantly speed up the pace of this program, even though it is being challenged in court and as immigration lawyers have expressed concern about the implementation of the process.