U.S. set to send first group of asylum seekers back to Mexico

[rooster59]

U.S. set to send first group of asylum seekers back to Mexico

By Julia Love and Delphine Schrank

 

The lights of a Border Patrol vehicle are seen between barbed wire at the U.S. and Mexico border fence in Friendship Park in Tijuana, Mexico, January 21, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/Files

 

TIJUANA/MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) - The United States was expected to send a first group of 20 Central American asylum seekers back to Mexico through the border city of Tijuana on Friday as part of President Donald Trump's hardening of longstanding U.S. immigration policy.

 

Under a policy dubbed the Migrant Protection Protocols, announced on Dec. 20, the United States will return non-Mexican migrants who cross the U.S. southern border back to Mexico while their asylum requests are processed in U.S. immigration courts.

 

Mexican Foreign Ministry spokesman Roberto Velasco said U.S. authorities were expected to send the first group of 20 Central American asylum seekers back to Mexico's territory on Friday through Tijuana, but as of about 7:00 p.m. local time there were no reports of the group crossing the border.

 

Velasco told local broadcaster Radio Formula that Mexican officials had not yet been given the list of people in the first group, which he said was supposed to be provided Friday morning, adding that he still expected the first transfer in the "next few hours."

 

He emphasized that the Mexican government would not be providing food or shelter for the returned asylum seekers.

"What we're proposing is that we provide these people with opportunities in the labor market," said Velasco, without going into further detail.

 

Under the policy, U.S. authorities will send as many as 20 people per day through Tijuana and gradually start sending people back through the other legal ports of entry along the Mexican border, Velasco said earlier in the day.

 

Mexico will accept the return of certain individuals who have a date to appear in a U.S. immigration court, but will reject those who are in danger in Mexican territory, suffering health problems, or are unaccompanied minors.

 

Velasco previously said that Mexico does not have a "Safe Third Country Agreement" with the United States, which would "imply a binding commitment to process in our territory all U.S. asylum requests of migrants that pass through our country and take full responsibility for their legal situation."

 

Asylum seekers have traditionally been granted the right to stay in the United States while their cases were decided by a U.S. immigration judge, but a backlog of more than 800,000 cases means the process can take years.

 

Now, the U.S. government says migrants will be turned away with a "notice to appear" in immigration court. They will be able to enter the United States for their hearings but will have to live in Mexico in the interim. If they lose their cases, they will be deported to their home countries.

 

"Shelters are at capacity and we can't receive migrants that are being deported or (Mexican) nationals that are passing through the city. Let's hope this doesn't happen," said Jose Maria Garcia, who runs the Juventud 2000 shelter in Tijuana.

 

Leopoldo Guerrero, Tijuana's secretary of government, said Mexico's federal government should take responsibility for the migrants, stressing that the city did not have the resources to do so.

 

The U.S. policy is aimed at curbing the increasing number of families arriving mostly from Central America to request asylum who say they fear returning home due to threats of violence. The Trump administration says many of the claims are not valid.

 

The program will apply to arriving migrants who ask for asylum at ports of entry or who are caught crossing illegally and say they are afraid to return home.

 

Immigration advocates fear Mexico is not safe for migrants who are regularly kidnapped by criminal gangs and smugglers, and have raised concerns that applicants will not be able to access proper legal counsel in U.S. courts.

 

Twenty-four year-old Danis Lazaro, who left his native Guatemala five months ago with his two daughters, aged 6 and 7, said he was concerned about the new U.S. policy.

 

"It doesn't seem fair to me. It's safer for us on the other side (of the border)," he said.

 

It is unclear how Mexico plans to house what could be thousands of asylum seekers during their immigration proceedings. Some Mexican border towns are more violent than the cities the Central Americans left behind.

 

"For many of them, Mexico is not a safe place to stay," said Betsy Fisher, policy director for the International Refugee Assistance Project.

 

Trump's administration, which has described Central American migrants as a danger, says it is relying on a U.S. law that allows migrants attempting to enter the United States from a contiguous country to be removed to that country.

 

But the policy will likely be challenged in court since claiming asylum is protected under both international and U.S. law. Several of Trump's signature immigration policies, including some attempting to reduce asylum applications, have been halted by U.S. federal courts.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-26

[mlmcleod]

It is stuff like this that mystifies me about US Immigration policy.  Trump wants all immigrants to be legal but then he makes legal immigration almost impossible for Latin Americans.  With a backlog of 800,000 immigration cases, there is probably little or no chance for any success using the legal immigration route.  

 

If I was a foreigner who wanted a new life which route would I choose?  Endless decades of waiting for the legal process or just crossing the border illegally?  Duh, not much choice there!

[Scott]

28 minutes ago, mlmcleod said:

It is stuff like this that mystifies me about US Immigration policy.  Trump wants all immigrants to be legal but then he makes legal immigration almost impossible for Latin Americans.  With a backlog of 800,000 immigration cases, there is probably little or no chance for any success using the legal immigration route.  

 

If I was a foreigner who wanted a new life which route would I choose?  Endless decades of waiting for the legal process or just crossing the border illegally?  Duh, not much choice there!

I there is some confusion about the various visas and of asylum.   Most, but not all, of the people crossing the Southern border are seeking asylum.   It does not mean that they have a legitimate claim and will be accepted.   The rejection rate is roughly 40%++.   I suspect it will be higher given the current climate on asylum.  

 

For those crossing and not seeking or with a bogus asylum claim, they have few options to remain and face deportation.

 

As for a visa.   That is limited to roughly either family immigrant visas, employment/investor visas and those with exceptional skills -- researchers, professors etc.   The work visa situation for the lower echelon of unskilled labor is rather limited and they have to have an employment offer and then an employment type visa application needs to be made.   This is a rather cumbersome process for an unskilled labor job.   For employers it is probably a little easier to simply contract some jobs out and pay little or no attention to who is filling them.  So, yes, there is no queue for most people to wait in.   They are simply not eligible to come to the US for any reason.  

 

If you look at the situation with people trying to stay in Thailand (and most countries), those with education, money and skills are welcomed.   Those without can stay out.   One distinction is that those remaining in the US legally do have a relatively easy path to citizenship, whereas Thailand and other countries it's much more difficult.  

 

The backlog of asylum claims needs to expedited.   The longer it takes to adjudicate the claims, the harder it is to repatriate/deport them.  

[simple1]

3 hours ago, Scott said:

The backlog of asylum claims needs to expedited.   The longer it takes to adjudicate the claims, the harder it is to repatriate/deport them.  

How does this work when trump has reduced the refugee visa allocation to 30,000 for 2019? Does it mean applicants will be waiting years, perhaps decades, even if they are positively vetted?

[Scott]

6 hours ago, simple1 said:

How does this work when trump has reduced the refugee visa allocation to 30,000 for 2019? Does it mean applicants will be waiting years, perhaps decades, even if they are positively vetted?

Asylum seekers are not refugees.  I don't know that once they are adjudicated, they are permitted to stay as refugees.  In the past, anyone who could enter as a family member, had to do so.   So, if you were a refugee and you had a brother in the US, you entered or remained under a family visa.   This helps to protect the refugee slots available.   Unaccompanied minors also fall into a separate category.  

 

Keep in mind that 40% or more are not considered as not going to pass the refugee screening.  

 

When I worked in refugee screening, along about Oct-Nov there was a push to get the full number of approved refugees resettled in that year.   In some years, people had to wait until the next year because the numbers were taken.  

 

Regardless of the numbers situation.  Quick resolution is essential to help people to move on with their lives.    Sitting in limbo is extremely damaging to people and is especially difficult for children who may not have access to education or any sense of stability.   It is much, much harder to return people deemed not to be a refugee, if they have been gone from their country for years.