Tens of thousands of migrants at the Southern border waiting for Section 42 to expire
Tens of thousands of migrants at the Southern border waiting for Section 42 to expire
Tens of thousands of migrants gathered along the U.S. border with Mexico early Wednesday morning, waiting for the end of Section 42, which prevented many of them from seeking asylum in the United States. The order, signed by former President Donald Trump in March 2020, required border guards to send migrants back to Mexico and other countries.
On Tuesday, the White House asked the Supreme Court not to lift the restrictions until after Christmas, filing a petition a day after Chief Justice John Roberts issued an interim order to keep in effect the restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Before Roberts issued the order, it was due to expire on Wednesday.
Just after midnight, when Section 42 was supposed to cease to be in effect, the Texas National Guard was calm on the banks of the Rio Grande River in El Paso. Hundreds of migrants gathered at the wire fence set up by the Texas National Guard. A little later, officials ordered them to the gate to begin passing through registration in small groups.
In the Mexican city of Juarez, across the border from El Paso, hundreds of migrants queued in the hope that restrictions would be lifted and they would be allowed through.
In Tijuana, where some 5,000 migrants live in more than 30 shelters and many rent rooms and apartments, the border was quiet Tuesday night as word spread among potential asylum seekers that nothing had changed. The multi-layered fence, more than 9 meters high along the San Diego border, makes the area dangerous for illegal crossings.
Under the restrictions, authorities have expelled 2.5 million illegal immigrants, and denied most asylum seekers at the border on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 under Title 42. К
The federal government also asked the Supreme Court to reject the latest attempt by a group of Republican states to uphold the measure. However, the White House acknowledged that lifting the restrictions would likely lead to “disruptions and a temporary increase in illegal border crossings,” but said the solution was not to extend the rule indefinitely.
As the news awaits, pressure is building on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Lizer warned that shelters on the other side of the border in Ciudad Juárez were overflowing, saying about 20,000 migrants were ready to cross the U.S. border.
Late Tuesday night, some migrants were allowed to enter in groups through a gate in the border wall between two bridges connecting downtown El Paso with Ciudad Juarez.
The city rushed to expand its capacity to accommodate more migrants by turning large buildings into temporary shelters. The Red Cross has provided 10,000 beds. Local officials also hope to relieve pressure on shelters by chartering buses to other major cities in Texas or nearby states, bringing migrants one step closer to relatives and sponsors in cooperation with nonprofit groups.
Texas National Guardsmen dispatched by state authorities this week to El Paso used barbed wire to cordon off a gap in the border fence on the Rio Grande River, which has become a popular crossing point for migrants crossing shallow water. Guardsmen used a loudspeaker to announce in Spanish that crossing here was forbidden.
Texas sent 400 National Guardsmen to the border town after local authorities declared a state of emergency. Lieser said the state of emergency declaration is mainly aimed at protecting vulnerable migrants, while a statement from the Texas National Guard said the deployment included forces used to “return illegal immigrants” to Mexico.
According to the White House, about 23,000 federal law enforcement agents are now stationed on the southern border.
“The solution to this immigration problem cannot be an indefinite extension of a public health measure that everyone now recognizes has outlived its public health justification,” the Biden administration said in a Supreme Court petition.
Nevertheless, the government has also asked the court to give it time to prepare if the justices allow the restrictions to be lifted. If the Supreme Court decides by Friday, the government wants the restrictions in place until the end of Dec. 27. If the decision comes on or after Friday, however, the government wants the restrictions to remain in effect until the second business day after such an order is issued.