Lawyer clears up immigration doubts in the US 3:48
(CNN) -
As arrests rise along the southern border, the White House and other administration officials are opening a channel of communication with advocacy groups that have a direct line to immigrants, according to multiple sources.
In the early days of his presidency, Joe Biden signed a series of decrees addressing the U.S. immigration system, setting in motion a process to reverse changes made under then-President Donald Trump that dramatically reduced immigration. To united states.
But the decrees largely kicked off previous policy reviews, without making immediate changes, raising questions about how the administration plans to deliver on its promises.
Immigrant advocacy groups are urging the Biden administration to act quickly and have been reaching out to administration officials behind the scenes to pressure them to make urgent changes, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The groups, many of whom witnessed the impacts of the changes in the Trump administration firsthand, were largely marginalized in the previous administration, but have influence among the migrant communities Biden is trying to reach. .
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"They have detailed some ambitious plans," a source involved in the discussions told CNN, referring to the Biden administration and the difficult road ahead to put those plans into action.
"The deficit they were left with in the previous administration is really starting to settle."
Trump's hardline immigration policies cut off access to asylum and have kept migrants in limbo in Mexico while they await humanitarian protection in the United States.
Just this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was devastated after the last four years, had its first secretary confirmed by the Senate in nearly two years.
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"The cruelty of the previous administration has come to an end," Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Mayorkas met with leaders of DHS component agencies and solicited their comments on a number of issues facing the department, including immigration reviews and the reunification of families that had been separated at the border under Trump, according to a spokesman for the department.
But as the Biden administration embarks on reforming the U.S. immigration system, it also faces challenges at the U.S.-Mexico border, where the number of people detained has risen since last April, when apprehensions were around 16,000.
In December, that number rose to around 70,000, according to figures from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
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The increase has been driven in part by deteriorating conditions in Central America, which was hit by two hurricanes while dealing with covid-19, and possibly by a perception that measures were relaxed.
"The calculation that came in was that they finally accepted that they could not make big changes," said a source involved in the discussions during the transition, adding that the possibility of a sudden wave on the southern border influenced that calculation.
"They are deeply concerned about that," the source added, referring to the administration.
The White House declined to comment.
Lawyer explains Biden's immigration proposal 3:49
Alternative immigration routes
During the course of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration relied on a public health law to swiftly expel migrants, including children and asylum seekers, found on the southern border, marking an unprecedented change in the way in which the United States processed the migrants.
The Biden administration has already said that it is not its policy to return unaccompanied migrant children.
Mexico has also stopped accepting the return of families with children under the age of 12, according to a National Security official.
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As a result, the United States is "having to find alternate paths" for those arriving in South Texas, where the largest number of families and children arrive at the border.
Families who do not return to Mexico are generally processed in the United States under precovid protocols, another DHS official said.
"CBP has seen a steady increase in border encounters since April 2020, which, compounded by COVID-19 restrictions and physical distancing guidelines, has caused some facilities to reach maximum safe holding capacity," he said. CBP in a statement.
“According to a long-standing practice, when long-term retention solutions are not possible, some migrants will be processed for removal, provided with a Notice to Appear, and released from the United States to await a future immigration hearing ”.
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"Covid-19 protocols, changes in Mexican law, and the limited retention capabilities of the United States have forced us to adapt," the agency added.
Customs and Border Protection is building modular structures in Donna, Texas, to provide processing capacity in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest regions for illegal border crossings, because a nearby processing center had to close for renewal.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which is tasked with caring for migrant children, is also reopening a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, which can accommodate about 700 children and can be expanded if necessary.
On Thursday, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency within HHS, informed its network of shelters that maintaining 'sufficient staff to process arrivals and departures 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, is critical in this moment, ”according to a memo obtained by CNN.
The change of administration and subsequent announcements have left many migrants waiting in deplorable and often dangerous conditions, wondering what will happen next.
"Messages matter, but reality matters more," said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
"You can send whatever messages you want, but people respond to the real signals of policy changes… Confusion tends to lead people to try their luck."
CNN's Geneva Sands contributed to this report.
White House Immigrants