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US to end COVID border expulsion policy for migrants

April 2, 2022

The Biden administration will end a COVID-related rule that effectively blocked migrants at the border. Hundreds of law enforcement officers were redeployed to process new arrivals and evaluate asylum requests.

https://p.dw.com/p/49MwU
People waiting in line to pass Texas days before the reopening of the US-Mexico border to non-citizens, after 18 months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, on November 7, 2021 in El Paso Texas, United States
The Biden admnistration has promised a more humane approach to migrants fleeing poverty and violenceImage: Yasin Ozturk/AA/picture alliance

The US will end a pandemic-era policy, put in place by former President Donald Trump in March 2020, that turned back asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that the rule would end on May 23. The agency had put the rule in place to protect the country from COVID-19.

It required the expulsion of both unauthorized single adults and family units arriving at the US-Mexico border and would not allow them to apply for asylum.

"After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19… the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary," the CDC said.

While the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas welcomed the decision, some politicians, both centrist Democrats and Republicans, criticized it.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said as many as 600 law enforcement officers were redeployed to the border to "process new arrivals, evaluate asylum requests, and quickly remove those who do not qualify for protection."

Ukrainians arrive at US-Mexico border

The US Customs and Border Protection said there were 1.7 million encounters between authorities and migrants at the US-Mexico border in 2021, a figure four times higher than 2020. The figure could rise this year.

In the wake of the Russian invasion on their country, hundreds of Ukrainians have also fled to the US-Mexico border, hoping that authorities will let them in to see family and friends in the US.

Asylum seekers from Ukraine wait for US border authorities to allow them in on the Mexican side of the San Ysidro Crossing port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on March 24, 2022.
Ukrainians wait in line for asylum in the USImage: Guillermo Arias/AFP

Many are camping in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, hoping for US asylum.

The Biden administration on March 24 said that the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

So far, more than 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled war to other European countries.

Migrants clash with security forces in Mexico

Meanwhile, migrants traveling in a caravan from Central America, headed to the US, clashed with Mexican security forces on a highway in southern Mexico on Friday.

The caravan forced their way through a first roadblock set up by police personnel, but scuffles broke out as they made their way through rows of National Guard troops blocking the path with shields.

A number of migrants have been detained, while others either handed themselves over to authorities or fled.

The US Customs and Border Protection said there were 1.7 million encounters between authorities and migrants at the US-Mexico border in 2021, a figure four times higher than 2020.

rm/jcg (Reuters, AFP, AP)