World

Biden turns to Trump-era rule to deport Venezuelan migrants


WASHINGTON –

Two years ago, candidate Joe Biden loudly denounced President Donald Trump for immigration policies that cause “brutalism and exclusion everywhere,” including against people fleeing government. the “brutal” government of the socialist Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

Now, with more and more Venezuelans arriving at the US-Mexico border as the November 8 election looms, Biden has turned to an unlikely source for a solution: his predecessor’s book .

Biden last week invoked a Trump-era rule known as Title 42 – which Biden’s own Justice Department is fighting in court – to deny Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-torn country from having opportunities to apply for asylum at the border. The rule, first introduced by Trump in 2020, uses emergency public health to allow the US to stop migrants from applying for asylum at the border, based on a need to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

Under the new policy of the Biden administration, Venezuelans who walk or swim across the southern border of the United States will be deported and any Venezuelans who enter Mexico or Panama illegally will not be eligible to enter the United States. But up to 24,000 Venezuelans will be accepted at US airports, similar to how Ukrainians have been since the Russian invasion in February.

Mexico has insisted that the US admits one Venezuelan to a humanitarian amnesty for every Venezuelan it deports to Mexico, according to a Mexican official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. So if the Biden administration pardons 24,000 Venezuelans coming to the US, Mexico will not receive more than 24,000 Venezuelans deported from the US.

The Biden policy marks an abrupt turning point for the White House, which, just weeks ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, both Republicans, for bringing in Venezuelan migrants “fleeing political repression” on buses and planes to Democratic strongholds.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time: “These are children, they are mothers, they are fleeing communism.

Biden’s new policy was quickly criticized by immigrant advocates, many of whom were quick to point out similarities to Trump.

Jennifer Nagda, policy director at the Children’s Center, said: “Instead of restoring refugee rights stripped by the Trump administration … for Immigrant Children’s Rights.

The administration says the policy is intended to ensure a “lawful and orderly way” for Venezuelans to enter the United States

Why revolving?

For more than a year after taking office in January 2021, Biden delayed going to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which used its powers to uphold Trump-era claims that there was a risk. public health causes asylum seekers to be deported rapidly. .

Members of Biden’s political party and activist groups have expressed skepticism about the public health background of allowing Title 42 to remain in effect, especially as COVID-19 is spreading widely in the United States. United States than elsewhere.

After months of internal deliberation and preparation, the CDC on April 1 said it would end the public health order and return to the border to normally process migrants, giving them the opportunity to apply for asylum. in U.S.A.

Homeland Security officials have been preparing for an increase in border crossings.

However, officials inside and outside the White House have been conflicted about ending the authority, believing it to be effective at stopping the number of people crossing the border illegally, according to senior administration officials.

A court order in May upholding Title 42 due to a challenge from Republican state officials was greeted with quiet relief by some in the administration, according to officials who spoke to the Associated Press. on condition of anonymity for internal discussion.

The recent surge in migration from Venezuela, caused by the political, social and economic instability in the country, dashed officials’ hopes that they had finally found a lull in the chaos that had already occurred. define the border area in the past year.

By August, Venezuelans were the second-largest nationality to the US border after Mexicans. As US tensions with Venezuela mean that migrants from the country cannot be brought back easily, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

So an administration that rejected many Trump-era policies aimed at stopping migrants has had the effect of making the asylum process easier and that has increased the number of refugees allowed. into the United States has now moved to Title 42.

It brokered a deal to send Venezuelans to Mexico, which has agreed to accept migrants deported under Title 42 if they are from Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador.

Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers continue to appeal the court’s decision that upheld Title 42. They are opposing Republican attorney generals from more than 20 states, who have argued that Title 42 is “the only safety valve that prevents this Administration’s already disastrous border control policies from turning into an irreversible disaster.”

Under Title 42, migrants have been deported more than 2.3 million times from the United States after crossing the country’s land border illegally from Canada or Mexico, though most have managed to leave. through Mexico.

The administration has announced it will stop deporting Title 42 migrants starting May 23 and return to the detention and deportation of migrants who are not eligible to enter and remain in the United States – a longer process that allows migrants to claim asylum in the United States

“We are deeply disturbed by the acceptance, codification and expansion of the use of Title 42, an unrelated health order, as a cornerstone of policy,” said Thomas Cartwright of Wits at the Border. border,” said Thomas Cartwright of Witnesses at the Border. “One that takes away legal asylum.”

A separate lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union is also trying to end Title 42, an effort that could render the administration’s proposal futile.

“Everyone has the right to seek asylum – regardless of where they came from, how they came to the United States, and whether they have family here or not,” said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt.


Long reports from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat of San Diego contributed to this report.

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button