Novas imagens preocupantes revelam as condições infernais de um acampamento improvisado no lado californiano da fronteira EUA-México, onde migrantes e seus filhos amontoados em sacos de lixo, implorando por comida.
O acampamento cheio de lixo – que surgiu entre um muro de fronteira primário e secundário em San Ysidro, organizado às pressas pela Patrulha de Fronteira – está cheio de pessoas que esperavam tirar proveito do fim do governo Biden para o Título 42 da era pandêmica e ganhar entrada legal nos EUA.
Desde que expirou e foi substituído por novas medidas mais duras, seu futuro tornou-se incerto.
Um vídeo filmado por um imigrante para o The Post às 22h, horário do Pacífico, na quinta-feira – uma hora após a expiração do regulamento baseado em saúde – mostrou dezenas de pessoas amontoadas sob sacos de lixo pretos e lonas que eles prenderam ao longo do fundo do arame farpado. parede fronteiriça rematada.
Outros migrantes sombrios, sem um lugar ao longo da parede, esparramados em cobertores no chão empoeirado da colina a alguns metros de distância, alguns abrindo sacos de lixo para se cobrirem e se aquecerem.
O número de crianças no grupo está aumentando, disseram os voluntários ao The Post.
Agentes dos EUA distribuíram água aos migrantes, mas nada mais, deixando as massas implorando por voluntários por comida e sacos de lixo extras para se protegerem das temperaturas que caíram para 50 graus durante a noite, disseram observadores.
Alguns migrantes também pediam desesperadamente aos jornalistas do outro lado da barreira que os ajudassem a carregar seus celulares.
Os migrantes receberam pulseiras coloridas das autoridades americanas – incluindo algumas azuis, vermelhas e verdes – e disseram que, dependendo da cor, seriam levados a um centro de processamento naquele dia.
Mas pelo menos alguns dos migrantes disseram que já ouviram dias diferentes de pessoas diferentes, e muitos ainda estavam esperando para saber quando os ônibus chegariam.
A confusão também reinou ao longo da fronteira em El Paso, Texas.
A Guarda Nacional do Texas, no lado mexicano da fronteira, rejeitou um grupo de migrantes, muitas crianças pequenas, na noite de quinta-feira, sem permitir que eles se rendessem às autoridades americanas.
“Volte para o posto de controle mexicano ou volte pelo buraco pelo qual você se arrastou [in the razor wire},’’ a guardsman told the migrants in the darkness. “Those are your two options.’’
The migrants pleaded with the authorities to let them cross into the US at least to seek asylum, to no avail.
“They’re telling us we have to go back,” a migrant told The Post through shouted questions from the other side of the international boundary.
“We’ve been walking for two and a half hours to get here after crossing over.”
On the US side of the El Paso crossing, at Gate 42, three buses filled with migrants were eventually let through.
What is Title 42 and what does its end mean for US border immigration?
What is Title 42?
Title 42 is a federal health measure enforced by the US Border Patrol. It allows the agency to kick certain migrants out of the US and return them to Mexico. This includes asylum seekers, who under international law have the legal right to make an asylum claim in America.
Currently, migrants who cross the border illegally and who are from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua or Venezuela are subject to Title 42 and could be sent to Mexico.
How did Title 42 start?
President Donald Trump invoked the law in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue the policy. The Trump administration made the case that keeping migrants out of the country would slow down the spread of infections and maintain the safety of federal agents encountering migrants.
What has happened with Title 42 under Biden?
When President Biden took over, he continued to enforce Title 42 with one important change from his predecessor. Biden said Border Patrol agents were only allowed to expel migrants from certain countries under his direction. That meant migrants seeking asylum from countries like Cuba and Venezuela could still seek asylum if they arrived at the border and stay in the US while their cases were decided in court — unless they had a criminal record.
What is happening with Title 42 now?
Title 42 is supposed to be a health policy, not an immigration law. It will end at 11:59 p.m. May 11, when the Biden administration ends all COVID-19-related policies.
Why is it controversial?
Many have called for the policy’s end, saying it’s illegal and that international law guarantees people the right to seek asylum.
Others, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, warn that the southern border could see up to 13,000 migrants per day crossing with the intention to stay in the country when the measure ends.
What would the end of Title 42 mean for immigration into the US?
It’s unclear exactly how many people have been expelled under Title 42 because there have been scores of people who have attempted to enter the country numerous times and been rejected again and again, but the US Border Patrol said it made an all-time high of more than 2.3 million arrests at the border in the last fiscal year. Forty percent of people who were expelled from the country were ejected under the rules of Title 42.
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“They will be processed now under Title 8 authority,” a CBP official said, referring to the previous immigration statute.
“If they have sufficient evidence that they have credible fear or they’re seeking asylum because of a danger to their life, then they will be given a court date and a notice to appear before an immigration judge,” the official said.
“They’re trying to get the initial hearing within 30 days.”
At the San Ysidro encampment, there was a handful of US Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security officers on either side of the dividing line.
Tensions rose in the minutes before the end of Title 42 — as the supplies brought in by volunteers, including coveted socks and blankets, dwindled.
The migrants had organized according to where they were from — including Latin America, Jamaica, Afghanistan and eastern Asia — and elected “captains’’ to represent them when it came to collecting supplies and distributing them.
As the free-sock supply dried up, all hell nearly broke loose between the Jamaican and Latin America “captains.’’
Then a young man held his hand up and said, “Stop! We are all one people!” and the argument subsided.
The Biden Administration tweaked the rules at the last minute to try to curb post-Title 42 chaos. Under the changes, those who cross the border and immediately claim asylum are supposed to prove they fear for their lives in their home countries and tried but failed to get help from the country they traveled through to get here.
If they make it past that step, they would be released into the US as their asylum application winds its way through the courts — a process that could take years.
Additional reporting by Kate Sheehy
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