By Priscilla Alvarez; Edited by News Gate Team
According to two Homeland Security officials, the Biden administration is considering deporting non-Mexican migrants to Mexico as an extraordinary measure to stop the flow of immigration to the US southern border.
President Joe Biden has battled an influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border since entering office, drawing condemnation from Republicans and alarm from some Democrats.
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The administration has relied on a Covid-19 restriction from the Trump period called as Title 42 to turn away some of the migrants it has encountered at the US-Mexico border in order to control the flow. However, as thousands of migrants continue to enter the Western Hemisphere, officials are thinking about other enforcement methods while the clock is ticking on its potential expiration and amid continuing litigation.
The Washington Post broke the news of the proposed scheme, which would use a quick deportation procedure called “expedited removal.” When considering post-Title 42 plans, administration representatives have frequently advocated doubling down on the practice.
While Mexico has accepted migrants under Title 42 and in the past under a border strategy known as “Remain in Mexico” during the Trump administration, this would appear to be the first time Mexico has accepted non-Mexican deportees on a significant scale. According to the officials, talks between the US and Mexico are still ongoing.
The Department of Homeland Security was contacted by CNN for comment. A representative of the administration dismissed the rumors.
“Reports that we are considering mass deportations of non-Mexicans to Mexico are false,” the official said. “We’re focused on continuing to work closely with the government of Mexico to implement our successful border enforcement plan. That plan has already resulted in the lowest border encounter numbers between ports of entry in two years.”
The US has often looked to Mexico for help with the surge of migrants journeying north over the years. Last month, Biden visited Mexico and commended Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for accepting migrants turned away under Title 42.
“We also want to thank you, Mr. President, for stepping up to receive into Mexico those not following the lawful pathways we’ve made available, instead of – attempting to unlawfully cross the border between our countries,” Biden said in his January remarks at the North American Leaders’ Summit.
The shifting migration patterns has put a strain on federal resources, as border authorities have encountered an increasing number of Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans. The US is largely barred from deporting migrants from those nationalities back to their home countries because of strained diplomatic relations.
Since then, the US has been using Title 42 to deport migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to Mexico while also launching a separate program that enables migrants from those countries as well as Haiti to apply to enter the country lawfully. Numerous applicants number in the thousands.
Administration representatives have given the initiative credit for the recent decline in border crossings.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, told reporters this month that “this is a very novel approach to building lawful and safe pathways premised on the foundational point, which historically has proven true that people will wait if we deliver for them a lawful and safe pathway to come here.”
While immigrant advocates have welcomed the program, they’ve denounced the administration’s enforcement measures that they argue make it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum in the US.
A rule that could bar some migrants from seeking asylum in the US is also expected to be released soon, marking yet another attempt by the administration to try to manage mass migration in the region.
By Priscilla Alvarez; Edited by News Gate Team
