White House urges asylum seekers not to rush US border

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The White House on Tuesday urged potential Central American asylum seekers not to rush the US-Mexico border as President Biden ends former President Donald Trump’s “stay in Mexico” policy.

The 2018 policy required asylum seekers arriving at the Mexican border to wait for a decision on their claim before entering the United States.

Candidates awaiting a decision will be allowed entry into the United States as part of Biden’s phase-out.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his deputy Liz Sherwood-Randall said in a statement that the initial rollback of “Stay in Mexico” will only apply to 71,000 applicants. asylum that are already part of the program.

“If you are seeking to enter the United States and you do not have an active case of MPP, you will be immediately deported and will not be allowed to remain in the United States,” they said.

In December, then-President-elect Biden said he feared to abruptly relax Trump’s immigration policies for fear of triggering “2 million people on our border.”

Migrants illegally cross the Rio Bravo to get to the US authorities at the US-Mexico border between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Thousands of people are waiting to seek asylum and more are coming every day, mistakenly believing they will be able to enter the United States now that former President Donald Trump has been removed from office. The Biden administration has promised a more
Migrants illegally cross the Rio Bravo to get to the US authorities at the US-Mexico border between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso.
AP

Supporters of the “Stay in Mexico” policy say it deters asylum seekers from entering the United States when they know their allegation of persecution is likely to be rejected. Some asylum seekers in the United States are entitled to work permits as their claims are processed.

Opponents of the policy say northern Mexico can be just as dangerous as the crime-ravaged Central American countries that candidates are fleeing.

Sullivan and Sherwood-Randall said new asylum seekers should not plan to show up at the border immediately.

Honduran boys whose families want asylum in the United States play on the sidewalk in Tijuana, Mexico.
Honduran boys whose families want asylum in the United States play on the sidewalk in Tijuana, Mexico.
AP

“We warn those seeking to immigrate to the United States that our borders are not open and that this is only the first phase of the administration’s work to reopen access to an orderly asylum process,” White House officials said.

“This new process applies to people who have been returned to Mexico under the MPP program and who have cases pending before the Executive Office for Immigration Review.”

They said: “People outside the United States who have not been returned to Mexico under the MPP or who do not have an pending immigration trial will not be considered to participate in this first phase of this program and should wait for further instructions.

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