Some 991 migrants from Cuba and Haiti were repatriated to their countries in the last ten days, reported the US Coast Guard, which also thwarted the illegal landing of another 237 rafters.
Of the migrants returned between January 6 and 16, 907 were Cuban and 83 Haitian. The last repatriation operation was completed this Monday, when the coast guard returned 84 rafters to Cuba, a statement indicates.
According to data from the US Coast Guard, since last October 1 to date they have intercepted 4,962 Cubans, figures that reflect an increase compared to the 6,182 registered in the entire fiscal year 2022, which ended in September.
“The White House and the Department of Homeland Security announced new legal avenues to enter the United States,” said Commander Jorge Valente of Coast Guard District Seven. “We urge all individuals to use the safe and legal means available to travel to the United States and not to take to the sea.”
The unusual arrival of hundreds of migrants in the first week of 2023 caused the closure of a natural park in South Florida. Authorities in the Florida Keys declared themselves overwhelmed and without resources to care for so many people.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis activated the state National Guard to assist in managing the huge flow of migrants, in a move criticized by the White House who called it a “political maneuver”.
The arrivals of Cuban migrants skyrocketed in 2022 due to the worsening of the political and economic crisis on the island.
In the fiscal year that ended, according to data of the Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a record 224,607 Cubans tried to enter US territory, a number that exceeds those registered during the Mariel exodus, in 1980, and the rafters crisis, in 1994, combined.
closed borders
On January 5, President Joe Biden announced the extension to Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians of the “humanitarian parole” that they already applied to Venezuelans, and which combines the granting of a quota of temporary entry and work permits to the US with the restriction of irregular entries.
“Don’t come to the border, stay where you are,” Biden asked migrants from these four countries, especially Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, which have the highest number of arrests on the border with Mexico.
Activists, migrants and officials from international organizations have criticized the new measure, arguing that it violates the principles of asylum.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, told the voice of america that while he applauds the US intention to encourage safe and legal migration, he fears that this new border policy will undermine the basic foundations of human rights and refugee law.
According to data collected at the southern border of the United States by officials of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), it is estimated that between January 6 and 7 they were expelled to Mexico. approximately 531 Cubans and 141 Nicaraguans, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo reported from Geneva.
“We know that the humanitarian situation on the border is serious,” Mantoo acknowledged, adding that they assist migrants who arrive “distressed and disoriented” at “overcrowded” shelters in Mexican territory, where they are already working to “expand the reception capacity with infrastructure and be able to provide relief.”
The US Supreme Court keeps Title 42 in effecta health measure applied by the administration of former President Donald Trump under which the expulsions to Mexico of asylum seekers who arrive at the border are allowed.
“UNHCR and its partners are providing protection, advice and guidance to people who have been expelled under Title 42 to Mexico on their options to access protection. However, current needs exceed existing capacity,” insisted the spokesperson.
[Con colaboración de Celia Mendoza, reportera de la VOA, desde Nueva York]
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