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The US Government will expand coronavirus-related border and travel restrictions

2020-05-19T09:32:33.670Z


The administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is preparing to extend this week the travel restrictions and the strict border control measures related to the p ...


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Migrants on the Mexican-US border fear of coronavirus 2:27

(CNN) - The administration of United States President Donald Trump is preparing to extend travel restrictions and strict border control measures related to the coronavirus pandemic this week, according to two government officials.

The latest list of restrictions indicates that while the United States is moving toward reopening, the federal government is not ready to ease the measures implemented in March that largely sealed off the country to stop the spread of covid-19. Strict rules also have the effect of continuing to curb immigration to the United States.

The United States was not alone in closing its borders in response to the outbreak. Throughout the world, countries, including America's neighbors, also limited entry to its territory. From the first implementation of the measures, the Trump administration extended them once, in April.

US Customs officers stand beside a sign saying that the US border is closed at the US / Canada border in Lansdowne, Ontario, on March 22, 2020. - The United States agreed with Mexico and Canada to restrict non-essential travel because of the coronavirus , COVID-19, outbreak and is planning to repatriate undocumented immigrants arriving from those countries. (Photo by Lars Hagberg / AFP) (Photo by LARS HAGBERG / AFP via Getty Images)

Those restrictions expire here on May 21. We will probably consider expanding those restrictions, as the country continues to be on a gradual open, state-by-state, governor-by-governor basis, so we are taking a look at that as well, ”Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told journalists last week.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also suggested last week that the border between the United States and Canada is likely to remain closed until June. The agreement in its current form prohibits any non-essential travel, although commercial traffic continues.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security told CNN: “The United States greatly appreciates the efforts of our partners in Canada and Mexico to ensure that North America works together to combat the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus. Although a formal decision has yet to be made, the United States will continue to maintain current restrictions on travelers crossing our land borders for non-essential purposes for as long as necessary, while supporting cross-border activities that protect our economy, health and security of supply, as well as critical industries ”.

CNN contacted the White House for comment.

Travel limits at the northern and southern borders of the United States are part of a series of changes related to the pandemic. In March, the Trump administration also invoked a public health law, citing the coronavirus, which allowed for the rapid withdrawal of detained migrants at the border, a move that raised concerns among officials involved in collecting data they believed was driven by political motivations. That order is also expected to spread.

Rules that limit immigration have raised concern among immigration advocates, lawyers, and public health experts who argue that the restrictions appear to be intended to stop immigration, not serve a public health purpose.

On Monday, more than two dozen health experts from major public health schools, medical schools, and hospitals questioned the basis for those restrictions.

"The nation's public health laws should not be used as a pretext to nullify humanitarian laws and treaties that provide life-saving protections for asylum-seeking refugees and unaccompanied minors," they said in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Stephen Miller, Trump's top immigration adviser and architect of the president's hard-line immigration agenda, has previously tried to use diseases, such as the flu and mumps, as reasons to narrow the border, according to a former administration official. .

Behind the scenes, the push to limit immigration during the coronavirus pandemic has been led by Miller, according to administration officials. After the president's proclamation in April limiting work permits or "green cards," Miller highlighted the move as a first step in reducing the flow of immigrants entering the United States.

Since then, advisers have been developing follow-up actions that could limit the number of guest workers, which was a key exemption from the first measure. Among the categories raised are H-1B visas for highly skilled workers and H-2B visas, which allow employers to bring foreign workers to the United States for temporary non-farm jobs, such as landscaping, hospitality, and other industries.

The suspension of the Optional Practical Training program, which allows foreign students to be temporarily employed in a job in the United States related to their area of ​​study is also being considered, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Taken together, the series of administration changes has severely limited entry into the United States.

Under stringent border control measures related to the coronavirus, only two migrants seeking humanitarian protection at the border have been able to remain in the United States. USA, according to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service. USA, which were first reported by The Washington Post.

Customs and Border Protection, the agency in charge of US border security. The US referred 59 immigrants to the Citizenship and Immigration Service, which processes asylum applications, who expressed fear of torture if returned. Under the new policy that prohibits most migrants at the border, the threshold for being exempt from expulsion is a claim under the Convention against Torture, according to a National Security official.

Previously, other asylum claims have been reviewed, but amid the pandemic, the administration has further limited access to humanitarian protections for migrants, alleging that it is in the interest of public health.

In April, the overwhelming majority of migrants detained at the southern border were quickly removed from the United States, including minors. Of the 15,862 people detained at the southern border in April, 14,416 were quickly expelled from the US. USA under a public health order, according to CBP data.

CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-05-19

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