USA expels more than 6,000 migrants under the new rules of the pandemic

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Migrant: Mexicans do not have support from the US government. 5:40

(CNN) - More than 6,000 migrants have been rejected at the US border. and Mexico since the new border restrictions for the coronavirus came into effect, according to the latest data from the US Customs and Border Protection Service. (CBP)

Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan insisted Thursday that the new restrictions, which went into effect on March 21, "have nothing to do with immigration."

"It's just about infectious diseases and public health," said Morgan, who repeatedly stated, "It's not about immigration, period. It's about public health and safety. "

President Donald Trump has previously suggested closing the U.S. border. and Mexico. Late last month, the administration invoked authorities from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection that allowed the country to immediately expel migrants found at the border.

CBP is expelling 80% of the migrants found in less than two hours. As a result, the number of people in his custody has decreased dramatically. Morgan said Thursday that fewer than 100 people are currently in custody. That's less than the 20,000 people in custody in May last year, during the peak of the southern border crisis.

Migrants detained at the border undergo a new accelerated process: biometric data is taken, medical evaluations are carried out, and then the migrants can be returned to Mexico or their country of origin.

The "overwhelming majority" of the returned migrants are found crossing illegally, Morgan told reporters, adding that at ports of entry, people without proper authority or travel documents are quickly rejected.

However, despite new measures against the coronavirus, the number of people illegally crossing the southern border has remained constant. In March, 29,953 people were detained at the border, a slight decrease from the 30,074 people detained in February.

Most of the migrants found by the agency are single adults from Mexico and people from the Northern Triangle countries: Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Morgan said. Migrants from other countries have been reduced to a "handful," he added, which is "very different from what it was a few weeks ago."

In the context of the pandemic, the Trump administration has tried to move forward with some of its more restrictive policies that have been struggling to implement, including blocking entry to people seeking asylum.

Quoting “unexamined” and “uninvestigated” people who enter the US Across the southern border, Trump said last month that the border would be sealed "mostly, and even beyond, but especially during this global pandemic."

That is also true for migrant children who arrive at the US border. and Mexico alone. CBP has said that children are subject to the new restrictions, marking a change in the long-standing practice of referring children to the care of the Department of Health and Human Services.

When asked if asylum and legal protection for unaccompanied children arriving at the border have been suspended, Morgan did not directly address the question, instead saying, "The disease knows no age."

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