Joe Biden has finalized Trump-style plans to stop illegal migrants flooding into the U.S less than 48 hours before Title 42 expires – and as thousands more are seen streaming across the border from Mexico.
The policy, as seen by CBS News, is almost identical to a law which had been introduced by the Trump administration – and which was decried by Biden at the time. It required migrants to request refugee status in another country, such as Mexico, during their journey to the southern border – before crossing into the United States.
Those who fail to follow the criteria are liable to be deported.
Introduction of the law comes as unauthorized border crossings spike, with Border Patrol averaging over 8,700 daily migrant apprehensions during a recent three-day period, a significant increase from the 5,200 average in March.
The sudden policy reversal appears to have been made in response to images of thousands of desperate migrants now swarming across the border before the change in the law later this week.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have already scoured the streets of El Paso in a ‘targeted operation’ to tell migrants to register or face detention.
Video shot along the Mexican border at Matamoros, which neighbors Brownsville, Texas, shows hundreds of people risking their lives as they cross the Rio Grande.
Video shot along the Mexican border at Matamoros, which neighbors Brownsville, Texas, shows hundreds of people risking their lives as they cross the Rio Grande
Migrants walk through a barbed-wire barrier into the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Mexico
To discourage illegal crossings, the Biden administration now plans to implement sweeping new regulations this week that will deny asylum to most migrants caught crossing.
The administration aims to quickly screen migrants for asylum under the new standard and, if they fail, deport them right away.
However, limited U.S. resources to deport migrants could stifle the effectiveness of the measure, which mirrors similar Trump policies that were blocked in the courts at the time.
Asylum officers were being trained on the new standard on Tuesday but some staffers have pushed back for its hasty rollout and others are concerned it undercuts access to asylum services, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
‘People are livid,’ said one Department of Homeland Security official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.
The new regulations will likely face legal challenges but it marks a significant shift in asylum policy and will disqualify thousands – who will not have been informed of the sudden change in the rules – from coming across.
The reversal would be a change in direction by President Biden, who had campaigned on restoring access to the U.S. asylum system after the Trump administration implemented rules that made it more challenging for migrants to seek refuge in the United States.
Current asylum laws brought in 1980 prevent the rejection of refugees who may face persecution if returned to their home countries, but there appears to be a bi-partisan rejection of these policies as the numbers of migrants grow ever higher – straining an overwhelmed system and communities along the border.
The new rules will see migrants crossing the southern border to be presumed ineligible for asylum if they are unable to demonstrate they previously sought protection in a third country.
It would disqualify most non-Mexican migrants entering the U.S. between ports of entry. Unaccompanied children would be exempt from the rules.
According to the documents seen by CBS, only migrants with ‘exceptionally compelling circumstances’ will be able to clear the stricter criteria.
It includes individuals with acute medical emergencies, those facing imminent and extreme threats in Mexico, and victims of severe human trafficking.
Many of the migrants making the journey already know friends and relatives living in the U.S. giving added impetus to their own plight.
Migrants swim across the Rio Grande river into the United States, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico
A US National Guard vehicle patrols the Rio Grande on May 9 2023 but it provides little deterrent
Migrants arrive at the bank of the Rio Grande to attempt a crossing into the United States on May 9 2023
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo on an inflatable mattress into the United States from Matamoros on May 9 2023
At one stage on Tuesday May 9, a yellow rope was erected across the river to give the migrants something to cling onto as they wade into the river chest deep and avoid being washed downstream by the current as they made they way over to the opposite bank
A man and child cling onto a yellow rope beneath the surface as they attempt to make it across on May 9 2023
Migrants cross through the banks of the Rio Grande to the US, as seen from Matamoros
A member of the Mexican National Guard stands by as migrants cross river
In shocking new videos posted on Tuesday by Todd Bensman from the Fellow-Center for Immigration Studies, men, women and children can be seen lining up waiting to cross the Rio Grande on the Mexican side of the border. Many were seen carrying plastic bags containing the few possessions they own across the river.
Upon reaching the other side, barbed wire fencing has been cut away allowing the migrants onto U.S. soil.
Mexican border patrol agents appear unwilling to prevent the migrants from making the journey across the river, while there seems to be little to no deterrent on the U.S. side either.
One reporter along the banks of the river estimated that thousands had crossed into the U.S. on Tuesday, with similar numbers expected on Wednesday also.
Many of the migrants making the journey already know friends and relatives living in the U.S. giving added impetus to their own plight.
At one stage on Tuesday, a yellow rope was erected across the river to give the migrants something to cling onto as they waded into the river chest deep and attempted to avoid being washed downstream by the current as they made they way over to the opposite bank.
Migrants walk through a barbed-wire barrier that has been cut to allow to easy access into the United States (May 9, 2023)
Migrants attempt to cross the Rio Grande river into the US from Matamoros, state of Tamaulipas, Mexico (May 9, 2023)
On the Mexican side of the border, men, women and children can be seen lining up waiting to cross (May 9, 2023)
Many were seen carrying plastic bags containing the few possessions they own across the river and keep them dry (May 9, 2023)
A woman looks on before she attempts to cross the Rio Grande river into the US (May 9, 2023)
Migrants are seen before they attempt to cross the Rio Grande river (May 9, 2023)
Migrants wait before they attempt to cross the river which separates Mexico from the U.S. (May 9, 2023)
Migrants wait before they attempt to cross the Rio Grande river into the US from Matamoros, state of Tamaulipas, Mexico on May 9, 2023
Migrants are seen after crossing the Rio Grande river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, on Tuesday
A handful of migrants cross into the U.S. where El Paso, Texas sits alongside Ciudad Juárez
Drone footage sees migrants standing near the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river
All along the U.S. – Mexican border, migrants are lining up and waiting to cross into the U.S.
Migrants Yulitza Otero, 27, with her 8-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, sit in a tent made of branches that her husband built while waiting for U.S. Border Patrol agents to transfer them in the remote mountains east of San Diego, early on Tuesday
According to internal training documents seen by CBS, the training manuals for border agents appear to be designed to result in more rejections than the traditional ‘credible fear’ interviews which migrants currently undertake.
Previously, migrants who were expelled under Title 42 did not face immigration or criminal penalties. It meant some would attempt border crossings until they were successful.
Those who are unable to prove their eligibility to be exempt under the new rules will be deported back to Mexico or their home countries and receive a five-year ban from the U.S.
The Biden administration is warning that those re-entering the U.S. after being deported could face criminal prosecution and jail time.
U.S. Border Patrol Police talks with women as migrants of various nationalities have been trapped between the primary and secondary border fences of the San Diego-Tijuana border sector for seven days
The US is preparing to lift COVID-19-era restrictions known as Title 42, which have prevented migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from requesting asylum since 2020. Pictured, the border in, in San Diego, California on Tuesday
A border patrol agent drinks water as migrants of various nationalities come across (May 9 2023)
President Biden admitted the border is ‘going to be chaotic’ on Tuesday when asked if his administration is prepared to handle the end of Title 42
On Tuesday, President Biden admitted the border is ‘going to be chaotic’ when asked if his administration is prepared to handle the end of Title 42.
‘It remains to be seen,’ Biden said. ‘It’s going to be chaotic for a while.’
He said he spent over an hour with Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday and they are both ‘doing all we can.’
He praised the ‘overwhelming cooperation’ from Mexico and noted the U.S. is setting up asylum processing centers in Central American countries.
Texas is sending in its tactical border force and the White House is deploying active duty troops to help with the expected deluge of migrant processing.
At the same time the Biden administration plans to expand legal migration and open processing centers in South and Central America allowing migrants hoping to enter to be pre-screened to see if they meet basic qualifications for different forms of entry before making the journey.
The centers will begin operating in Guatemala and Colombia in the coming weeks. Canada and Spain have also agreed to accept migrants from the centers.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted a video in the early hours of Tuesday morning showing where authorities put in place razor write to stop migrants from flowing over a popular crossing point
Customs and Border Protection apprehended 26,382 migrants over the weekend – a staggering unprecedented average of 8,794 per day
As Title 42 is set to expire Thursday, May 11, migrants are lining up at the southern border to immediately cross into the U.S. once the policy is no longer in use. Pictured: Hundreds of migrants arrived in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Sunday, May 7 to cross the border into El Paso, Texas
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said during a press conference Monday that President Joe Biden has not given an ‘adequate response’ to letters detailing concerns over Title 42 ending with no replacement policy lined up
Thousands of migrants are already lining up at the southern border waiting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico once Title 42 is lifted on Thursday. Pictured: An aerial view of migrants waiting at the border fence on May 8 and hoping to make asylum claims on May 11
On Monday Arizona’s Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs sounded the alarm over Biden administration’s preparations for the end of the Covid-era public health policy, claiming at a press conference Biden has not given an ‘adequate response’ to her letters outline action needed in her border state.
She also said that she expects the situation at the border to only get ‘worse’ if nothing is done to help once Title 42 is done.
Hobbs said in her press conference that she sent letters to Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas detailing actions she, as a border state leader, feels must be taken ahead of the expiration.
‘As of today, we have not received an adequate response,’ Hobbs told reporters as she stood alongside state and border community leaders.
She added: ‘We will continue to relentlessly pressure the federal government until we truly get the resources we need to manage the expected influx.’
The governor does not think the state is prepared to handle the anticipated influx of migrants alone.
‘While we are prepared to take state action in any way we can, we cannot manage this influx alone,’ Hobbs said.
‘Without much more robust action from the federal government, the current situation will only get worse.’
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