By Elliot Spagat and Christopher Sherman —
The Associated Press
The government of Joe Biden has begun to expel Cuban and Nicaraguan immigrants to Mexico under Title 42, which allows asylum seekers to be rejected at the border due to the coronavirus pandemic, thus expanding the use of the rule despite announcing his intention to deactivate it in the coming weeks.
The United States reached an agreement with Mexico to expel up to
100 Cubans and 20 Nicaraguans a day
from three places: San Diego, California;
and El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
The expulsions began on April 27 and will end on May 22, a US official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been made public.
[They record how a Latino journalist drowns in the Rio Grande in front of National Guard agents who do nothing]
The United States and Mexico agreed on very limited expulsions of Cubans and Nicaraguans on April 26, according to a senior Mexican official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly.
The decision was motivated by the increase in the number of migrants from those two countries arriving at the border with the United States.
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Another Mexican official, also not authorized to comment publicly, confirmed that up to 100 Cubans and 20 Nicaraguans were expelled in San Diego.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to a request for comment.
Until last week, Mexico only accepted Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Salvadorans — in addition to Mexicans — under Title 42 authority. Other nationalities are subject to Title 42, but costs, strained diplomatic relations, and other considerations often make their return difficult. to their countries.
It is almost impossible for the United States to expel immigrants to Cuba or Nicaragua due to poor relations with those governments.
This has been a great challenge for the Administration, since more and more people from those countries seek refuge in the United States.
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Cubans were stopped by US authorities more than 32,000 times at the border with Mexico in March, twice as many as in February and more than five times the count in October, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Nicaragua eased travel restrictions from Cuba in November, making it easier for Cubans to continue overland to the US border.
Most enter the United States through Yuma, Arizona, and Del Rio, Texas, or the surrounding areas.
Last month, Cuba and the United States took a tentative step toward thawing relations and resuming joint efforts to address irregular migration during the highest-level talks between the countries in four years.
There were no major breakthroughs, but the mere fact that the United States held substantive talks was a sign that relations could improve under Biden, after being deeply frozen under his predecessor, the deputy foreign minister said on Friday. Carlos Fernandez deCossio.
“They seem engaged.
They have ratified that they are committed to the current agreements,” said Fernández de Cossio.
"So we have no reason to distrust what they say, but time will tell," he added.
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The end of Title 42 has become a political battleground ahead of the November election and even within the Democratic Party, over concerns that the United States is unprepared for the feared surge in asylum seekers.
Authorities intercepted 221,000 migrants at the border in March, the highest number in 22 years.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have publicly endorsed the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end the measure because it could no longer be justified on grounds of protecting public health.
But the practice of expelling Cubans and Nicaraguans flies in the face of public statements by the Administration that it was removing the use of pandemic powers to prepare for May 23.
The Washington Post newspaper reported on Wednesday that the United States and Mexico reached an agreement to do so with the Cubans and Nicaraguans.
The United States has removed migrants more than 1.8 million times under Title 42 authority since March 2020, effectively nullifying rights to seek asylum under US law and international treaties.
In doing so, migrants are not subject to immigration law, which includes rights to seek protection from persecution.
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The Biden Administration said in court filings that it began processing more Central American adults under immigration laws after the CDC's April 1 announcement.
But a federal judge in Louisiana ruled last week that Title 42 could not begin to be withdrawn while it was in effect.
District Judge Robert Summerhays strongly criticized the CDC's decision, suggesting that it would try to keep Title 42 in effect after May 23.
A hearing has been scheduled for May 13 for oral arguments.
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Marisa Limón, director of advocacy and planning for the Hope Border Institute, said advocates began learning about the expulsions of Cubans and Nicaraguans from El Paso on Monday and confirmed the new practice with US officials.
Limón said the Administration is “trying to squeeze every last drop out of Title 42” before it expires.
He called it "sobering" but consistent with his efforts to get other countries in the Western Hemisphere to take more responsibility for taking in people fleeing their homes.