The Corona deportation pass issued under ex-President Trump should expire this Monday. But a lawsuit by Republicans prevented this. This means that migrants can still be turned away without a procedure.
Bridge in Del Rio, Texas: Many migrants return to Mexico at the border without any procedures
In the USA, a highly controversial deportation pass will not be canceled for the time being. A judge from the state of Louisiana ordered that the regulation, which the government of US President Joe Biden plans should have expired this Monday, not except power is set. The plaintiff Republican governors have provided sufficient grounds for an injunction against the lifting of the “Title 42” deportation rule, it said.
The “Title 42” was introduced in March 2020 under then-President Donald Trump. He allows US border guards to immediately and informally deport migrants entering the United States illegally via Mexico or Canada , citing the pandemic. There is no procedure.
According to the CDC, the health authority wanted to protect the US population from the corona virus. In doing so, however, they largely unhinged the right to asylum. The only exception to this measure, which has been extended several times, concerns unaccompanied minors. According to the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), 1.7 million people have been deported since the introduction of this regulation.
Contradictory attitude
The planned abolition of the deportation rule by the current US administration has been welcomed by human rights organizations, but has been heavily criticized by representatives of the Republicans. The Republican Party's stance seems contradictory as it also advocates removing all pandemic-related restrictions. In the case of Title 42, however, she believes that removing it would allegedly increase insecurity and chaos at the borders.
Mexican police officers arrest migrants on their way to the USA (archive)
“Republicans want to use this rule as a political weapon in the November midterm elections, fueling some Americans' fears of a massive influx of immigrants at the borders,” said Maureen Meyer, vice president for programs at the Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA). , der DW.
Ana Saiz, director of the Mexican citizens' organization “Sin Fronteras”, spoke of a “simple pretext” by the Republicans, which was fraught with “xenophobic prejudices”: “The spread of the coronavirus does not depend on immigrants, as 70 percent of them are vaccinated.”
International commitments
Saiz pointed out that in recent weeks Ukrainian migrants have been granted derogations to cross the border and apply for asylum, while Central Americans, Mexicans and Haitians continue to be turned back. For Maureen Meyer, this reflects a lot of “hypocrisy” on the part of the authorities. “Haitians, for example, are flown back to their country, where presidents are assassinated, where there is gang violence and natural disasters,” she lamented.
Migrants ford a border river (archive)
The USA would come by maintaining the deportation regime ” does not comply with its international obligations, as the basic principle of the 1951 Geneva Convention is that persons may not be returned to a country where their life is threatened without a regulated asylum procedure,” stressed Saiz.
In addition, migrants in the Mexican border areas are exposed to numerous risks. The US human rights organization Human Rights First has investigated nearly 10,000 cases of kidnapping, torture, rape and other violent attacks against migrants deported to Mexico under Title 42 since the beginning of the Biden administration.
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At the end of the flight – the US border at the Rio Grande
Plans are currently waste
After President Biden's plans have now been blocked legally and politically debate shows no signs of easing, it is still uncertain what will happen now. The White House said it would abide by the court's decision, but would appeal. Washington also asked Mexico for help to prevent a massive influx of people on its southern border. The Biden administration hopes to reach an agreement with other Latin American countries at the Americas summit in June.