Tuesday, March 17, 2020

'Remain in Mexico' is just one US response to asylum-seekers

AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File
The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to continue making asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings. It may be the most far-reaching measure in a series of policies the government has put in place over the last year amid an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking arriving at the border, many from Central America.
The Trump administration has enacted at least five policies since the beginning of last year that officials contend are designed to address asylum claims that don’t have merit and to confront a sharp increase in border arrests to a 13-year high in May. Here is a look at the policies and what they do.
RETURN TO MEXICO TO WAIT FOR HEARINGS
A Supreme Court decision on Wednesday affected the fate of a policy often called “Remain in Mexico.” It was introduced in January 2019 and gradually expanded to all major crossing corridors.
Migrants arriving at the border are turned back to Mexico and must wait there for their court hearings in the U.S. Critics say it’s a reckless and inhumane program that has subjected countless asylum seekers to kidnapping, extortion and violence in Mexico border cities where gangs wield tremendous power.
About 60,000 immigrants have been sent back to Mexico under the program. Six in 10 of them are from Honduras and Guatemala. Mexicans and unaccompanied children are exempt.
About 18% of people subject to the policy, known officially as “Migrant Protection Protocols,” are caught crossing the border illegally after their initial encounter, according to Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott
FLY TO CENTRAL AMERICA TO SEEK ASYLUM THERE --->
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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