The Biden Administration sent the first asylum seekers across the southwest border since it restarted the 'Stay in Mexico' immigration program this week.
Border Protection and Customs officials escorted the first two migrants to cross, one Honduran and one Nicaraguan, across the international bridge from El Paso, Texas, to Ciudad Juárez.
There they were treated at the offices of the National Migration Institute,
where they were tested for COVID-19
, according to the EFE news agency.
Mexican agents accompanied the asylum seekers to a new camp that was built on the Mexican side of the border to house about 100 migrants, as they are transferred to shelters in Ciudad Juárez.
Two Central American asylum seekers walk across the international bridge in El Paso, Texas, as they are asked to wait in Ciudad Juárez for their cases in US immigration courts;
on December 8, 2021 EFE
Migrants will have to wait in Mexico for immigration courts in El Paso to call them to review their asylum case.
"Today we receive approximately 35 people. We will receive a similar number daily. They will stay in the tents for three days, so we will have about 100 people from the program here," said Santiago González, head of the Human Rights Office in Ciudad Juárez, according to the Border Report news portal.
[Arizona border crossings shoot up and alert of delays in asylum requests]
After those three days, the migrants will be transferred to the shelter of the Mexican federal government Leona Vicario in Ciudad Juárez, according to the aforementioned media.
Activists have warned that
the great challenge is to set up shelters for migrants.
According to the International Organization for Migration on this border, of the network of 23 shelters, there are 2,967 beds, but 85% are already occupied.
This is how migrants live in Tijuana who hope to cross into the United States for asylum
Dec. 7, 202102: 26
The measure, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), was created by former President Donald Trump to return asylum seekers to the neighboring country to wait for the months or years it takes to resolve their cases in the United States.
Currently, more than 26,500 petitioners are on MPP waiting lists in eight Mexican border cities, a recent study by the University of Texas at Austin revealed.
Last week, both governments pledged to
improve the conditions of stay in the shelters, shorten the processing times
and ensure quality in health.
Biden ended this policy when he arrived at the White House in January claiming it was inhumane due to the violence migrants faced in Mexico, but a federal court decision forced him to reinstate it pending resolution of his allegations.
Central American migrants returned by the Paso del Norte International Bridge when the 'Stay in Mexico' program was reactivated, Ciudad Juárez, December 6, 2021. EFE
The Government promised to vaccinate the affected immigrants against COVID-19.
However, the vaccination rate is very low among migrants served by the Border Patrol.
According to government reports obtained by CBS News, of the more than 1.6 million migrants processed by authorities,
only 90,000 were immunized.
Those responsible assure that they vaccinated only those who voluntarily accepted it.
Another of the main requirements of Mexico to reach an agreement was to obtain a guarantee from the United States that asylum cases will be processed quickly, in order to reduce the time that migrants must spend in their territory waiting for a resolution .
In the coming days, the program will begin operating, in addition to El Paso, in
six other border ports
: San Diego, Calexico, Nogales, Eagle Pass, Laredo and Brownsville.