Title 42, a measure that prevents migrants from getting asylum in the U.S. due to COVID, is expected to end next month as the country lifts its national public health emergency.
Meanwhile, federal immigration agencies are ramping up severe immigration policies ahead of the policy ending on May 11.
Federal authorities expelled more than 235,000 asylum seekers in the first three months of 2023 under Title 42, according to government data. Since the start of Title 42 in March 2020, the U.S. has removed over 2.8 million asylum seekers.
That includes families, children and people traveling alone.
The premise of Title 42 was to increase COVID precautions. Health officials said that policy actually lacks public health reasoning.
Title 42 is a federal code that allows the federal government to expel migrants who have come from a country with a communicable disease. Ending the policy means the U.S. has to process migrants under typical immigration laws, allowing them again to seek asylum instead of deportation.
Sophia Genovese is an attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. She said its likely a rush of asylum seekers will come to the U.S. when the policy lifts.
While its a good thing that Title 42 is ending, she said, there are still overly strict immigration policies in place.
In January, with the end of Title 42 in mind, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a string of new, strict border enforcement measures. One measure proposes rapidly kicking migrants out of the U.S. known as expedited removal who arent eligible for Title 42 under Title 8 instead.
Under Title 8, if asylum officers determine that migrants dont have a credible fear back in their home country or migrants dont ask for asylum, the federal government can remove them from the country. Genovese said this is a big issue.
Were wasting a lot of money on expulsions and deportations, instead of being rational and recognizing that migration is normal, she said.
Genovese said there are expedited removal violations at the Torrance County Detention Center, one of three immigrant detention centers in New Mexico. It has a history of violating federal standards. Migrants have also repeatedly reported inhumane conditions, and one Brazilian asylum seeker being held at Torrance died by suicide last year.
Federal officials hold credible fear interviews to ensure that migrants have a reason to be afraid of returning to their home country. Genovese said some interviews at Torrance have been violating due process rights, with officers asking few questions in interviews, only asking yes-or-no questions when questions are supposed to be open-ended and speeding through interviews.
She said shes working with a migrant from Ecuador who speaks Kichwa and was forced to proceed with an interview in Spanish, despite not even speaking that language.
Genovese said the U.S. deportation exodus only creates a larger mess than what is necessary in the end.
No amount of border policies are going to limit migration, she said. What this causes instead is chaos, and it feels intentional.
Genovese pointed out that providing accessible services to migrants, such as legal help, is less costly than detaining them.
They are invested in the process, and simply need access to information and services to meaningfully participate in that process, she said.
Genovese said the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center wants to see alternatives to detention, like Immigrant Customs and Enforcement check-ins and community-based models of assistance.
People want to comply with court orders. They want to comply with the law, she said. People are here because they generally fear returning to their home countries, and they want whats best for them and their familys safety.
Immigration is ultimately up to the federal government. Genovese said the state government cant interfere with the enforcement of these policies.
However, New Mexico could show solidarity for migrants, she said, and employ strategies like welcoming centers. She brought up Portland, where an immigration welcome center provides access to legal services, food programs and language education.
How powerful would that be, if perhaps the City of Albuquerque did that, or other cities within the state supported by the state government are able to establish these welcoming centers, she said. So that people have the tools that they need to get through their asylum process.
One New Mexico representative is asking for the New Mexico National Guard to be sent to the southern border to help stem the flow of illegal activity.
Rep. Jenifer Jones (R-Deming) sent a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week referencing a conversation the two had during the Legislature about potential federal funds to send the New Mexico National Guard to the border. Jones said state funds could be used if theres no federal assistance.
Maddie Hayden, spokesperson for the governors office, said via email that the New Mexico National Guard is ready to assist with non-enforcement related work at the southern border, at the request of the federal government.
Congress ultimately bears responsibility for finding a solution on federal immigration policy, she wrote, but until Republicans recognize that border security and humanitarian aid are not mutually exclusive, this fundamentally federal issue will continue to fester without a solution in sight.
Hayden said Lujan Grisham agrees with Jones that public safety is paramount, including at the southern border. She added that the governor is committed to dedicating whatever resources are needed to keep New Mexicans safe.
New Mexico Senate allows immigration detention to continue
In the letter, Jones said the flow of illegal activity will likely increase when Title 42 lifts, worsening a crisis of illegal drugs coming across the southern border and the threat of human trafficking.
Genovese said Democrats cant fall victim to messages like the one from Jones and try to appease white nationalism.
Its fear-mongering by Republicans, predominantly, about the immigrants, the asylum seekers, the migrants, failures to recognize humanity in our neighbors, she said. Its completely racist and xenophobic.
She said Biden also shouldnt try to appease these Republicans. His administration has expelled more people under Title 42 than the Trump administration that enacted it, according to the government statistics. Genovese said too often, Democrats like Biden try to placate Republicans by showing force around the southern border.
Its caused a tremendous amount of chaos and more harm, she said.
Bidens stance on Title 42 has swayed over the years, with the administration often denouncing inhumane immigration policies while still keeping them in effect.
Congressional members pointed out Bidens mixed messages in January. They sent a letter to Biden arguing against the expansion of Title 42. New Mexicos U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujn and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernndez signed that letter along with 75 other officials.
The Biden administration as well as immigration advocacy centers have failed to end Title 42 numerous times.
As a result of that and Title 8 being in effect, Genovese said there have been and still are thousands upon thousands of migrants and asylum seekers waiting in Mexico. Many are often in very dangerous situations, she added.
When asylum seekers rush into the U.S. when Title 42 lifts, she said, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol wont have the capacity to hold everyone, meaning some will get through undetected and officials will just have to allow others through.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUBSCRIBE
Read the rest here:
Severe immigration policies intensify as Title 42 nears its end - Source New Mexico
- Opinion: Why we don't need to meet in the middle but we can't allow political polarization to fester unchecked - Times Record News [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2021]
- Two Books on the Bizarreness of Texas - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2021]
- Rev. William Barber Calls For Restructuring U.S. Policies To Root Out Racism, Poverty - Here And Now [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2021]
- The Impact of an All NOVA Democratic Ticket This Fall - WVTF [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2021]
- A Hindu foundation has filed a complaint against University of Pennsylvania, saying an online conference perpetuated stereotypes - The Philadelphia... [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2021]
- Why Hungary is infected by ultras who are almost impossible to control - The Guardian [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2021]
- Explainer: White Nationalism | Facing History and Ourselves [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2021]
- No one seems to like the Lincoln Project anymore - Politico [Last Updated On: November 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: November 29th, 2021]
- White Nationalism Has Taken Many Forms [Last Updated On: December 4th, 2021] [Originally Added On: December 4th, 2021]
- Pan-Africanism is the panacea to the Wests systemic racism - Al Jazeera English [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2022]
- Elites From Russia, Europe, and the United States Are Still Getting Nationalism Wrong - Foreign Policy [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2022]
- How the most Powerful Israel Lobby started Preferring anti ... [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2022]
- Ndabaningi Sithole: Zimbabwe's forgotten intellectual and leader - The Conversation Indonesia [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- Baseball, barbecue and losing freedom this Fourth of July - ESPN [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- In May, a Month of Mass Shootings, One After Another - The New York Times [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- The Soviet Union never really solved Russian nationalism - Aeon [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- Guerrero: Im officially reclaiming the U.S. flag from the fascists - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- White supremacy poses increasing threats in the U.S.: We are dealing with a massive movement. - WBUR News [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- Buffalo gunman's racism appears linked to mainstreaming of white ... [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- In the Fight Against White Nationalism, White People Are Key - American ... [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- Jemar Tisby: White Christian nationalism fueled Jan. 6 attack [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- The Facts on White Nationalism - FactCheck.org [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2022]
- Fueled by virtually unrestricted social media access, white nationalism is on the rise and attracting violent young white men - The Conversation... [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2022] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2022]
- Race Reductionism Threatens to Doom the Left - CounterPunch [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Transcript: Jared Holt and Karen Kornbluh on "Face the Nation," Sept. 4, 2022 - CBS News [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Guest Commentary: MAGA Abortion Banners and Election Deniers - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Socialism, Nationalism, and Tolkien - by Alec Dent - The Dispatch [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Celebrated Author And Anthropologist Rich Benjamin To Speak At Raue Center - Broadway World [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- We're not as divided as we think - Oneonta Daily Star [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Tucker Carlson's job ads claim he values diversity, but that's not what he tells his viewers - Daily Kos [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Former Trump adviser Michael Flynn at the center of new movement based on conspiracies and Christian nationalism - PBS NewsHour [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Finding Our Place in the Inland Northwest documentary and discussion begins Sept. 8 - spokanefavs.com [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- The Rings of Power is suffering a racist backlash for casting actors of colour but Tolkien's work has always attracted white supremacists - The... [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- Soldier Who Said He Wanted Combat Experience to Kill Black People Booted After FBI Probe - Yahoo News [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- An associate of white nationalist Nick Fuentes claims he interviewed to work on Tucker Carlson's team - Media Matters for America [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2022] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2022]
- White Nationalism Is Mainstreaming Conspiracy Theories [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2022] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2022]
- Real Viking History and the Imagined White Supremacist Past - Time [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2022] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2022]
- Christian Nationalism Is Biblical And America-First, But Not White [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2022]
- White Christian Nationalism and the Mid-Term Elections, Hosted by the ... [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2022]
- What Does White Christian Nationalism Even Mean, Anyway? [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2022]
- Jews, White Supremacism, and White Nationalism | National Vanguard [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2022]
- AOC: Vast Majority of Domestic Terror Comes From White Nationalism ... [Last Updated On: November 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 28th, 2022]
- Black nationalism - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: November 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 28th, 2022]
- White Nationalist | Southern Poverty Law Center [Last Updated On: November 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 28th, 2022]
- Christian nationalism - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: November 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 28th, 2022]
- White Christian Nationalists: Who Are They? What Do They Want? Why ... [Last Updated On: November 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 28th, 2022]
- White Christian Nationalism: The Deep Story Behind the Capitol Insurrection [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2022] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2022]
- What is white nationalism? Take a look at Trumps agenda. - Vox [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2022] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2022]
- Charlottesville: 'Unite the Right' Rally, State of Emergency - TIME.com [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2022] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2022]
- White nationalism a threat the Canadian Armed Forces arent equipped ... [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2022] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2022]
- Tree of Life trial starts as Pittsburgh synagogue congregations find ... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- Government-sponsored review finds religion a force for good in the UK - Church Times [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- The World According to Tucker Carlson - The New Yorker [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- Fox finally boots Tucker Carlson - IrishCentral [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and ... - The White House [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- Soldier with white nationalist ties pleads guilty to gun charges - ArmyTimes.com [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- Fox News Could Be Just as Racist Without Tucker Carlson - New York Magazine [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- Tucker Carlson Should've Been Fired Years Ago - New York Magazine [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2023] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2023]
- Idaho White Nationalism: Inside a New Class of Republican Power - The Daily Dot [Last Updated On: January 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 16th, 2024]