Why is there so much confusion regarding US immigration policy?

“It left me confused.” Jorge bitterly remembers the day he found out that the United States was going to deport any Venezuelan who entered his territory irregularly. “In itself, one’s trip is made by unknowns, but that announcement scared the whole world,” the Venezuelan told France 24 from Mexico, where he is trying to raise money to cross to the United States by plane.

Like him, many people saw their American dreams affected by the successive announcements of the Biden Administration since the end of 2022. As a result, there was a decrease in the number of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela detained at the southern border of the United States. . The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the North American nation reported that in January the Border Patrol encounters with people who were trying to enter the southern border in an irregular manner they had fallen by 97% compared to the previous month.

An obvious reason for this drop is the successive additions to US immigration restrictions. With the consent of the Mexican government, in October 2022 the United States expanded the list of countries subject to Title 42 land border removal to include Venezuela; before adding January 5 to Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. Specifically, Mexico agreed to accept up to 30,000 migrants a month from these four countries, who have tried to cross by walking or swimming.

The ‘Parole’ program, a prudent step by the Biden Administration

The Democrat government combined this measure with a new humanitarian permit program that allows a total of 30,000 people a month to be received in the United States for two years. That is, if they have a sponsor who can prove to be able to support them financially. They must also be in possession of their passport, a not insignificant detail for many migrants who come from nations where renewing a document represents quite an odyssey.

In an interview with France 24, the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) mission in Panama, Giuseppe Loprete, insisted on recognizing the possibilities that the humanitarian program opens up: “There are 30,000 opportunities. We must expand the legal path to give those people access to work, and with this program you take a good step in that direction”.

This ‘Parole’ measure is the first in which Joe Biden seeks to distance himself from his predecessor, Donald Trump. However, his opponents claim that he falls short in the face of the humanitarian crisis that ends at that border.

In late January, a senior administration official reported that some 1,700 people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua had come to the United States through the program and that thousands more had been approved to travel. “We can’t stop people from making the trip, but we can require that they come here in an orderly manner under US law,” President Joe Biden declared in early January.

Indeed, the trends indicate that these changes do not prevent migrants from all over the continent from packing their suitcases. Watching their goals of reaching the United States recede, many find themselves stranded in an unknown country with a long history of violence: Mexico.

Because, as the general coordinator of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar) reminds France 24, the decisions of the Biden government go beyond its borders: “Whether the United States is applying its laws correctly or not impacts Mexico,” declares Andrés Ramírez Silva.

“Adrift” on the border with Mexico

The organization Doctors Without Borders estimated in mid-January that 18,000 migrants were “adrift” on the northeastern border of Mexico. A figure that makes sense in the main border cities. In Ciudad Juárez, the shelters are 85% full, according to Border Report, while Doctors Without Borders assures that in Matamoros, “more than 4,000 migrants live on the streets.”

And governments on both sides owe a lot to the volunteer work of shelters and civil society organizations to contain the humanitarian crisis. Even so, the Administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador is not currently contemplating giving more weight to border cities to better manage the flow of people.

Within Mexico, another institution will not receive any more budget from the Mexican Government, despite being under pressure due to these migratory movements: it is the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (Comar). “We are asking more and more, because more demand is coming to us. Until now, if we have not collapsed, it is thanks to the support of the UNHCR,” confesses Andrés Ramírez Silva, coordinator of this public body. “In 2021, we were on the verge of collapse. And this year looks to be remembered.”

Double the effort to receive asylum applications

To respond to the demand for asylum applications, the official explained to France 24 that Comar plans to open two additional offices: “We have no choice but to develop our organization, seek greater productivity, without it being at the expense of quality in our dealings with people.”

And looking back, this productivity will be necessary. When, in October, the president of the United States offered to receive 24,000 Venezuelans who entered by air and met certain requirements, Comar found itself at the center of a frenzy of new asylum applications. “Many Venezuelans realized that what was convenient for them was to get a formal job in Mexico, to buy a plane ticket to the United States. And to get that job, it was convenient for them to request asylum at Comar,” recalls Andrés Ramírez Silva.

And the figures from that Mexican institution already suggest that the latest expansion of Title 42 will also be accompanied by similar trends.

But the announcements from the United States disturb not only the Mexican leg, but the entire migratory route. “Multiple countries in Central and South America have reported limited resources and are asking the United States for help to support migrants already in the country, claiming that they are unable to provide them with basic social service requirements,” he says. a December DHS assessment.

There are also governments that, faced with the possible massive arrival of migrants at their borders, decide to play the military card, as was the case of Guatemala, which issued a “yellow alert” on January 13 and deployed additional police and soldiers to its border. with Honduras.

For his part, Jorge, -before arriving in Mexico-, was in Honduras for several days to rethink his goal of reaching the United States. He had never contemplated the idea of ​​staying in Central America when he started his trip, but the general confusion about the new rules for entering the North American nation forced him to make a stop: “First I thought about going back to where I came from, but that idea exploded in my head. And in Honduras nothing is done to give us work, so I decided to continue.”

IOM, witness to great confusion

Further south, the head of the IOM mission in Panama recounts the impacts he was able to observe in recent months: “The composition of the flow changed but not its intensity.” Giuseppe Loprete details that the most numerous migrants went from Venezuelans to Ecuadorians and Haitians, but in terms of figures the flow was maintained: “We estimate that at least 23,000 people transited through the Darién in January.”

This jungle between Colombia and Panama, known as the “Darién Gap,” also served as an earplug for hundreds of migrants during Title 42 announcements. Many learned of the new deportation rules once they left this thick jungle. and they arrived in Panama in total confusion. “It was and still is a complex situation. They ask us what they have to do. Before, the migrants stayed for a day or two and now they stay for weeks, months,” says Giuseppe Loprete.

There is also the case of people who decide despite everything to continue with their itinerary: “They have already made a very large investment to get to Panama and returning to their country would mean returning with a debt.”

Finally, the head of the IOM insists on the role that criminal organizations have in this general confusion: “They continue to pass on false information, assuring that the trip is easy, that you can reach Mexico quickly. They offer packages to continue and when migrants realize that it is not true, they are already in another country and need help”.

Therefore, Giuseppe Loprete concludes by mentioning the importance of better coordination between transit countries and thus reduce irregular passages handled by criminal networks. This international coordination will indeed be crucial to face old and new challenges of American migration.

And if the latest changes in the immigration policy of the United States present in theory not inconsiderable opportunities for thousands of people, on the other hand they blow up the international principles of the right to asylum. An asylum that Jorge and thousands of others consider they deserve, but that countless bureaucratic difficulties do not allow them to achieve it.

With Reuters, AFP, EFE and local media