The government chaired by Joe Biden will launch a legal advice program for asylum seekers who are admitted to the country through seven border cities, and among them for those affected by the program known as Stay in Mexico that forces them to wait in the country neighbor until the date of the appointment before an immigration court.
According to a request from the federal government to contractors published this Thursday and collected by the Axios portal, the objective of this initiative is to strengthen legal aid to immigrants in San Diego and Calexico, California;
in Nogales, Arizona;
and in El Paso, Eagle Pass, Laredo and Brownsville, Texas.
Migrants intercepted next to the border wall. Eugene Garcia / AP
In these areas, Stay in Mexico has already been restarted, a policy launched by former President Donald Trump and that Biden tried to conclude after his arrival at the White House a year ago, but a judicial decision still pending appeal forced him to resume.
With this new legal aid plan, called Legal Access at the Border (LAB), it will be contractors who will be in charge of orientation, but
under the supervision of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which depends on the Department of Justice and also supervises the operation of the immigration courts.
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According to the contract document, with the new initiative, migrants should be assisted with "immigration court practices and procedures, relief and protection from removal, and other pertinent remedies."
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In addition, it is clarified that the services are to give "general information and presentations [of legal orientation]", and will begin in the coming weeks.
The government's request comes in the midst of what would be one of the biggest delays in immigration processes.
There are almost 1.6 million pending cases.