Mexico asks that migrants returned to the country from the US are not pregnant or children

The Mexican government announced this Wednesday that it asked the United States authorities that immigrants not vaccinated against COVID-19 and those in vulnerable situations, such as pregnant women and minors, are not returned to the country under the

, which obliges asylum seekers to wait in the territory of that country for the resolution of their cases.

The Foreign Minister, Marcel Ebrard, indicated in a press conference on Wednesday that every day between 1,500 and 2,000 migrants are returned to Mexico (a third of them are Mexican).

"Around 10% of that flow are people who wish to request asylum. So

," said Ebrard.

The foreign minister indicated that what Mexico requested from the US government is "that there be support from international organizations to assist these people and that people are vaccinated, other than people in vulnerable situations, for example, pregnant women, minors." .

The Donald Trump Administration's program that forces asylum seekers to wait for the process in Mexico became a tool to broadly reject those trying to enter the United States.

Marco Ugarte / AP

The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a formal designation of the

, were established in 2019 under the Donald Trump Administration.

Since then,

has been challenged in court, leading to temporary suspensions.

President Joe Biden scrapped his Republican predecessor's rule shortly after taking office in January this year, but after the states of Texas and Missouri demanded the repeal, a federal judge ruled that it should be reinstated.

was

.

The Biden Administration appealed the decision, but a federal court rejected the request.

The magistrates consider that the Government "is awarded the power to implement a massive policy change, affecting billions of dollars and countless people, simply by writing a new Word document and posting it on the internet."

Mexico and the United States have reached a series of agreements on how to implement the program, which includes a commitment by the US authorities to offer the coronavirus vaccine to migrants and streamline asylum processes so that they wait less time in the country. neighbor for a resolution.

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Another of the concessions that the government of the president, Joe Biden, has allegedly made to achieve the Mexico agreement is to support the creation of the

program 

, announced on Wednesday by the authorities of both countries.

Mexico's request that the program not be applied to vulnerable groups was made on Tuesday during a meeting with Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary measures to face the advance of the omicron variable. .

Countries from all over the world were present.

"What we did was a first review of what is in the whole world, who is doing what," said Ebrard.

When asked

will last

, the foreign minister said he could not specify it.

"It is difficult to know, I cannot determine the timing at this time," he said.

Under the 2019 policy, asylum seekers must spend weeks, sometimes years, in Mexico until they are assigned a date before a U.S. court rather than waiting for their hearing on U.S. soil.

In its first implementation between January 2019 and February 2021, about 70,000 asylum seekers under MPP were sent to Mexico.

Currently,

are on MPP waiting lists in eight Mexican border cities, a recent study by the University of Texas at Austin revealed.

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Biden condemned the move during his campaign, and migrant advocates have warned that migrants are trapped in border cities exposed to kidnapping and other dangers.

The UN has also expressed concern over the reinstatement of the program.

"We are concerned that any type of reinforcement of security procedures to deal with migration will only push migrants towards more unsafe routes and 

" said the Office spokeswoman. Human Rights Officer Ravina Shamdasani last week.

However, the Biden government has continued to implement - and defend in another court case - the public health policy created under the umbrella of restrictions by COVID-19 and known as Title 42, which allows the majority of applicants to return. asylum seekers who arrive at the border 

.