The US activates a plan to suspend Title 42, a health regulation used to expel migrants
The United States has launched a plan to end Title 42, a health regulation used to expressly expel migrants who arrive at the southern border under the pretext of the covid-19 pandemic.
The announcement of this Tuesday, November 22, comes after a federal judge gave him to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a period of five weeks to suspend the rule.
“We are activating our plans” for when Title 42 is lifted, said DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Blas Núñez-Neto, in a call with journalists.
When this regulation put in place by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) is suspended, Title 8 will apply, which allows migrants to request asylum at ports of entry and gives the Government the power to deport and even impose penalties on those who do not meet the requirements and are considered inadmissible.
The Executive’s plans include measures to reduce processing times, retaliate against illegal border crossers and work with governments in the region, including Mexico, to deal with coyotes and human traffickers, Núñez explained.
“There are more than 23,000 agents at the border and we have significantly increased our capacity of detention to be able to transport the migrants and deport them,” said the official.
Núñez also announced that, as part of his preparation, the Joe Biden Administration is in talks with governments in the region to be able to deport Venezuelans to third countries.
“Third countries have been used to repatriate Venezuelans historically and it is something that we are going to continue doing,” said the official.
The US does not have diplomatic relations with Venezuela and in early October andThe Biden government reached an agreement with Mexico to be able to expel migrants from this South American country arriving at the southern border.
Last week, Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia, He issued a ruling forcing the government to end Title 42, which he described as “arbitrary and capricious.”
Title 42 originates from a 19th century law designed to stop the “introduction” of contagious diseases into the United States. Under the pretext of that regulation, the US it does not allow migrants to request asylum when they arrive in its territory and are expelled from the country by fast track.
The main difference between the regulations is that Title 8 obliges the authorities to transfer the undocumented to detention centers for several hours where they can request asylum, while Title 42 allows deportation to be resolved in 15 minutes and with no space for asylum.
Sullivan’s court ruling not only knocked down one of the last barriers imposed by Trump to immigration that remained standing, Rather, it posed a challenge for the Biden Administration at a time when record arrests of undocumented migrants are being recorded at the border with Mexico.
In October alone, there were 230,000 arrests at the US-Mexico border, with more than 78,400 expulsions from United States territory.
Under Title 42, the US has expelled more than 2.5 million migrants, according to data from the International Rescue Committee organization.
