President Joe Biden is temporarily deploying 1,500 soldiers to the US-Mexico border ahead of the end of a pandemic-era entry restriction known as Title 42 on May 11. The soldiers are to perform administrative tasks, but critics say the move sends the message that migration is a threat. Tens of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants currently stranded in dire conditions in northern Mexican border cities by US policies are growing increasingly desperate and frustrated. More than 15,000 people—mostly from Venezuela—crossed the border in the vicinity of Brownsville late last month, overwhelming shelter capacity. And in El Paso, nearly 2,000 people who recently crossed the border are sleeping on sidewalks in the city center. The Biden administration has introduced a number of policies aimed at extending asylum restrictions at the border and curbing migration. The administration reached a deal with Mexico on May 2 that for the first time allows the US to deport non-Mexicans who enter the country irregularly back across the border.
From The New Humanitarian, May 5
Note: Title 42 is only poised to finally end because the US public health emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic which it is based on expires on May 11.
Photo: Savitri Arvey, The Conversation
Minors die in US migrant detention centers
A 17-year-old from Honduras died in the custody US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) according to a May 12 statement by the HHS. Enrique Reina, foreign affairs secretary for Honduras, identified the unaccompanied minor and offered his condolences in a tweet. Reina stated that Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza died in a shelter in Safety Harbor, Florida, while in the custody of the ORR. Reina also stated that the Honduran embassy is in contact with Espinoza’s family and is investigating the matter.
During a May 12 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also confirmed that a six-year-old who had been in HHS custody “for a number of weeks” had died in custody. Jean-Pierre said a medical investigation into the death had been opened. No further details were given. (Jurist)
Another minor dies in migrant detention center
An eight-year-old migrant girl from Panama with a heart condition died in federal custody in Texas on May 17 after crossing the border with her family. She was being held with her family at a Border Patrol station in Harlingen. (CBS News)
US border authorities issue statement on death of minor
US Customs & Border Protection released a statement June 1 disclosing that the eight-year-old girl who died while in their custody last month was denied attention or review from medical staff. (Jurist)
Judge strikes down Biden administration asylum policy
A federal judge in California struck down a Biden administration asylum policy on July 25 that created a “rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility” if someone seeking asylum in the US has did not first seek out a lawful, safe and orderly path to the US. The ruling found that the rule, which was set to take effect in August, was improper on both substantive and procedural grounds. (Jurist)
Appeals court allows Biden asylum policy to go into effect
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowed President Joe Biden’s new asylum policy to remain in place on Aug. 3, granting the administration’s motion for an emergency stay. The Biden administration filed the motion last week to keep the policy in place while they appeal a federal district court ruling that struck down the policy. The new policy presumes that migrants who do not use legal pathways to enter the US are ineligible for asylum. Human rights organizations widely condemned the policy after Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced it in May. (Jurist)