Immigration

BORDER CRISIS: DHS Secretary says admin ‘reengineered’ process for unaccompanied children

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 2021

Following a visit to an immigration facility in Donna, Texas Friday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas held a press conference to announce changes in processing migrant children.

“We have reengineered the process for the treatment of unaccompanied children,” Mayorkas said. Now, instead of Border Patrol officers corralling the children, they will be sent to Health and Human Services.

“They do not belong in a Border Patrol station,” Mayorkas said. “Children belong in the shelter of Health and Human Services.”

On March 28th, U.S. Border Patrol reported 5,767 children in their custody. These children remained in Border Patrol stations for an average of 133 hours. Later, on April 2nd, there were about 3,700 children in their custody for an average of 139 hours.

“There is unanimous agreement that our immigration system is broken reform is desperately needed,” Mayorkas admitted. But, “we’ve made tremendous progress and we will continue to make tremendous progress.”

When asked about Title 42, the COVID-19 directive that is currently limiting the flow of migrants, Mayorkas said he doesn’t see it ending soon.

“The pandemic is not yet behind us,” he said, calling it a directive from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It remains in place “to protect not only the American people but the migrants themselves,” Mayorkas said. Because it is “tied to data,” Mayorkas said it’s a matter of public health standards that it will be lifted, not an executive decision.

Mayorkas echoed President Biden’s statements, pinning the blame for the border crisis on the previous administration. “We inherited a system that had been torn down and dismantled,” Mayorkas said.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism

Immigration

Biden Administration to allow 40,000 asylum-seekers per month into US with mobile app

Published

3 days ago

June 6, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Despite chaos at the border, the Biden administration is still pursuing expansion of a smart phone app which would allow nearly 40,000 asylum-seekers to enter the United States…per month.

“Starting in June, officials will allow more migrants waiting in Mexico to secure an appointment to enter the U.S. through a government phone app known as CBP One, which the Biden administration has transformed into the main gateway to the American asylum system” reports CBS News.

Department of Homeland Security Officials said border agents are preparing to distribute approximately 1,250 appointments per day, or 38,750 per month, to migrants in Mexico. They will then present themselves at ports of entry.

CBS News reports:

The CBP One app allows migrants north of Mexico City to request an appointment to appear at a southern border port of entry, where U.S. officials generally release them with an immigration court hearing in their respective destination. Migrants can fight their deportation in court by seeking asylum.

The app-powered system has been sharply criticized by migrant advocates, who say it penalizes the most destitute migrants who don’t have smartphones or an internet connection. They have also said the app does not allocate nearly enough spots to help the tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Mexico.

However, the app has facilitated “the largest expansion of migrant processing at ports of entry along the southern border in U.S. history” adds CBS News. “Since its use began in January, more than 120,000 migrants have secured appointments to enter the U.S. through CBP One, according to unpublished government figures.”

In addition to the CBP One process and the asylum restriction, the Biden Administration has begun allowing up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly to the U.S. directly per month if they have American sponsors. In just several months, that program received over 1.5 million applications.