Drug smuggling across the US-Mexico border led by US smugglers
The US-Mexico border has been closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic and it is unclear when it will reopen. However, this forces the cartels to change their drug trafficking tactics as they are now recruiting Americans to do the job.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday that it would allow some migrants, who were rejected under the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, to enter the United States while their applications for asylum are heard.
The policy, known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), was implemented and expanded in 2019 and kept migrants in Mexico pending their hearings – hearings that took place in court tents set up from the other side of the border.
US BEGINS ADMITTING MIGRANTS FROM MEXICO, AS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION END TRUMP-ERA POLICY
The Trump administration said the policy succeeded in ending the practice of “catch and release” – whereby migrants would be apprehended and then allowed to enter the United States for their auditions, and which officials say was a “pull factor” encouraging migration to the border.
Opponents said it was a cruel practice that put tens of thousands of migrants at risk as they waited at the border for their applications, the vast majority of whom would be rejected. The Biden administration ended the policy and allowed migrants enrolled in the program to enter the United States – but until this week that only applied to those with open cases.
New announcement will allow migrants whose cases have been closed, or who have been deported to their home country without being present at their final hearing (“in absentia”), to enter the United States
DHS said the move was “part of our ongoing efforts to restore safe, orderly, and humane treatment at the Southwest Border.” He stressed that those concerned should stay where they are and apply online, rather than traveling to the border.
BuzzFeed News, which first reported the development, said nearly 28,000 migrants had been ordered to be deported “in absentia”. So far, 11,000 MPP-registered migrants have been cleared to enter the United States, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
TEXAS, MISSOURI SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ON REMOVING STAY IN MEXICO POLICY
The development is likely to fuel accusations by Republicans, former Trump officials and others that the Biden administration is contributing to the border crisis with rolling back key Trump-era policies and admitting more migrants to the United States to seek asylum, even after traveling to other countries.
More than 180,000 migrant encounters took place in May, the highest in years and a sign that the crisis on the southern border does not appear to be slowing down. The Biden administration has said its policies do not encourage the surge, and officials have claimed the border is closed – underscoring the fact that most migrants are turned away due to Title 42 public health protections.
GOP SEN. HAGERTY PRESSES BIDEN ON ‘STAYING IN MEXICO’ ROLLBACK, WARNS HE WILL ‘ENDANGER’ COMMUNITIES
Instead, the administration blamed “root causes” in Central America like poverty, crime, violence and climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris, who has not traveled to the border since being tasked with leading diplomatic talks to end the influx of migrants, recently visited Guatemala and Mexico in the framework of these talks.
Despite the surge in numbers, the administration said its strategy was working and called for more money for advanced technology, bolstering ports of entry and funding to deal with immigration backlogs.
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“We have a strategy,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told House lawmakers last week. “We are executing this strategy, I have confidence in the strategy and I am confident in the proposal that we have submitted to this Congress to better resource this strategy.”
