The tightening of immigration containment measures is bearing fruit for the Joe Biden Administration, which this Wednesday reported a 97% reduction in the number of migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti who arrived in January, compared to the volume registered in December.
"These measures at the border are working
," said the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, in a statement, referring to the humanitarian
parole
program , which contemplates the monthly expulsion of 30,000 migrants to Mexico and allows the entry of migrants into the United States. another 30,000, but with strict requirements.
The program, announced in December for Venezuelans and Ukrainians, was extended in January to Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians.
Pro-immigrant organizations have described it as an extension of Title 42, the health regulation that allows the express expulsion of potential asylum seekers.
[“The American dream has become a nightmare for us”: dangers and despair impact Venezuelan migrants stranded in Mexico]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detailed this Wednesday that, based on preliminary figures for January, the encounters of border authorities with migrants of these nationalities
plummeted 97% compared to December.
More than 250,000 migrants were apprehended at the border in December 2022
Jan 21, 202300:22
That month, when the humanitarian
parole
program began to roll out , DHS said an average of 3,367 arrests were reported per day, compared with an average of just 115 arrests per day, according to figures available as of Jan. 24.
The number of irregular crossing attempts for January, the DHS noted, may become the lowest recorded since February 2021, if the downward trend continues.
[Biden expands Title 42 at the border to expel more migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua]
Specifically regarding migrants from Venezuela, the DHS said that while in October there were some 1,100 arrests as a daily average, in January the figure was barely 100.
In addition to the restrictions that the parole
program places on migrants
, Title 42 has made it easier for the United States to expel some 2.5 million asylum seekers since it went into effect in 2020. The Supreme Court decided in late December that the The rule would remain in place "for now", despite the claim of human rights organizations that consider it vulnerable to migrants and exposes them to dangers in Mexico.
Republicans Seek to Block Humanitarian Parole Program
The DHS said this Wednesday that, since it was announced in December, some
1,700 people from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti have been able to travel to the United States
after proving that they have sponsors, and that
thousands more are in the works.
But this Tuesday some twenty Republican states, led by Texas, sued the Biden Administration to block the program, arguing that it is "illegal" and that it was adopted without Congress.
Migrants at the border are looking against the clock for a sponsor to achieve a temporary stay
Jan 17, 202300:50
"It is incomprehensible that some states that can benefit from these effective measures intend to block them and cause more irregular immigration on our southern border," Mayorkas reacted to the lawsuit on Wednesday.
"The data continues to show that when an orderly and legal pathway is in place, people are less likely to put their lives in the hands of smugglers
," DHS said in its statement.
The plaintiffs allege that the program should not be used as an immigration benefit but rather
“case by case” and for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
The Republican states driving the Texas-led action are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.