More than 1,300 immigrants have gathered in the vicinity of the border city of Yuma, in Arizona, just hours after the Government chaired by Joe Biden reactivated by court order the
Stay in Mexico program
, which forces asylum seekers to wait the resolution of their cases in the neighboring country.
The Republican governor, Doug Doucey, denounced that "individuals and entire families are crossing the border en masse."
The return of 'Stay in Mexico' does not stop the migrant caravan that crosses Mexican territory
Dec. 6, 202100: 28
"Yuma is facing a growing humanitarian and border crisis, and it is a direct result of poor communication from the Biden Administration, lack of organization and complete disregard for border protection," the governor said in a message in the social network Twitter.
[Texas deploys more state agents to curb irregular border crossings]
A border agent, quoted by the local television network KYMA, affirmed that in the last hours 1,300 immigrants have been seen near the Morelos dam, where the Colorado River passes.
Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines also noted that since last Thursday at least 5,000 immigrants have crossed the border, waiting to be picked up by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to process their asylum. .
"The reason why they have said that there is an increase is because they are concerned about the policy that is being reintroduced of not letting them cross into the United States," he explained in reference to the program
Stay in Mexico
, according to local television ABC 15.
Lines assured that most of the people come from Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, India and Georgia.
"Arizona is doing everything in its power at the state level to support law enforcement and protect our border communities, but the Federal Government is ignoring the problem. It is not sending enough resources," the governor said.
["It's very unfair": uncertainty and frustration over the return of 'Stay in Mexico']
For this reason, he said he was forced to ask the Arizona National Guard and the state Departments of Homeland Security and Public Safety "to develop a clear and effective plan to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to address the serious crisis. from Yuma and protect the Arizonans. "
CBP issued a statement in which it noted that "unscrupulous smugglers continue to exploit vulnerable migrants. CBP's message is clear: our borders are not open. People should not make the dangerous journey. Yuma and our partners across CBP are working quickly to screen and prosecute those found. "
Despite the reactivation of
Stay in Mexico
, most asylum seekers will not even have the opportunity to have their cases admitted for processing, and will be quickly returned to Mexico under the measure known as Title 42, also approved by Trump at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and which has been maintained by Biden.