Globe Live Media, Friday, January 29, 2021

In the span of a year and a half, a Cuban couple living on the US-Mexico border was repeatedly threatened, attacked, and lost a baby after being assaulted, while waiting for their next appointment in US immigration court. under a Trump-era policy.

There has been a presidential transition since they first arrived in Juárez, Mexico, to seek asylum in the United States, but their lives remain the same.

“I have padlocks on the door. I am threatened,” said one of the Cubans, a 30-year-old who agreed to share his experience on the condition that Globe Live Media not use his name. “You cannot imagine the state we are in. It is something very difficult.” The Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, a group representing people in the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program, put Globe Live Media in contact with the migrant.

The Biden administration acted quickly to begin dismantling former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. But the flood of announcements in the early hours of Joe Biden’s presidency will not immediately change the situation along the US-Mexico border, where thousands of people wait in desperate conditions to seek refuge in the United States.

White House officials have warned that any policy change will take time to implement, in part as a result of challenges arising in processing people at the border amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“These Trump policies are alive and well on the border, it’s frustrating,” said Linda Rivas, an immigration attorney and director of the Las Americas center. “It really weighs on people, weighs on their souls. What we saw happen to our clients is the opposite of dignity.”

Under Trump, migrants from Central America and other parts of the world seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border were forced to remain in Mexico until their immigration court hearings in the United States.

That meant waiting months, if not years, in deplorable conditions and under the threat of extortion, sexual assault and kidnapping. Migrants can easily be identified based on their accent or clothing and, as a result, fall prey to gangs and corrupt authorities, among others.

While it is difficult to know exactly how many people are waiting to be admitted along the southern border, there are more than 22,700 cases pending in court hearing these cases along the border, according to the Robert Strauss Center for Security and International Law. from the University of Texas at Austin, which published a report on the program.

The Cuban couple, husband and wife, arrived at the United States border in July 2019 after fleeing political persecution in their home country. The couple was ultimately subject to politics and had to wait in Mexico while their case progresses through U.S. immigration courts. Last February, the 27-year-old woman was assaulted while pregnant and lost the baby, according to her husband.

Their attorneys have tried to remove the couple from the program so they can wait for their court date in the United States, given the circumstances, but the couple have been returned to Mexico each time, even after an attempt last Friday.

Lawyers also asked officials to allow a Honduran woman who was allegedly raped while in Mexico to enter the United States last week. After an interview of several hours with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the woman and her 11-year-old son were returned to Mexico, according to Rivas.

The agency declined to comment, telling Citizen Free Press: “As a matter of practice, USCIS does not comment on individual cases.”

In his first hours in office, Biden took steps to end the so-called “Remain in Mexico” program, which will run for two years on Friday, by stopping the enrollment of new migrants. Since October, more than 3,200 migrants have been admitted into the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, according to data obtained by Citizen Free Press.

The pandemic closed immigration courts and delayed cases, resulting in migrants staying in Mexico for longer periods.

“It’s really very difficult for people who are desperate and in dire situations in Mexico,” said Taylor Levy, a California-based immigration attorney who works with clients in Juárez. “These asylum seekers are extremely vulnerable in Mexico, more vulnerable than the average Mexican.”

‘Every day there is a new rumor’

Biden plans to announce executive actions that would establish a “fair but efficient asylum program” that includes ending the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program, said Esther Olavarria, deputy director of the National Immigration Policy Council, last weekend. But it is not clear what happens to those who have already been subject to politics, such as the Cuban couple.

Kate Clark, senior director of immigration services for the San Diego Jewish Family Service, said her office has been receiving about 50 calls a day from migrants trying to get guidance on what to do next.

“In general, we get repeat calls asking the same questions in different ways to understand what the process is,” Clark told Globe Live Media, adding that some people have called three to four times “in the hope that we are going to say something. different.”

Part of the reason behind the flood of calls is the rumors and misinformation circulating on social media. Some of those rumors have directed migrants to ports of entry or advised them to set up email accounts to receive information from the government, according to lawyers.

“It creates a hysteria that is not necessary, Every day there is a new rumor. Disinformation runs rampant,” said Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney who represents clients forced to stay in Mexico. “Once you get them to understand that nothing is going to happen right away, they understand.”

Children crossing the border alone

The dangerous conditions in which many families find themselves have caused children to cross the border alone despite initially arriving with a parent or other relative.

As of this month, more than 700 unaccompanied children who had been waiting in Mexico with relatives as part of Trump administration policy have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is in charge of the care of migrant children.

Unaccompanied children are exempt from the policy, which means that children crossing the border are detained by the Department of Homeland Security and referred to the Department of Health and Human Services. While in care, case managers work to place a child with a sponsor in the United States, such as a parent or relative.

While the Trump administration came to rely increasingly on the “Remain in Mexico” program, the pandemic also gave way to officials pulling another lever, invoking a public health law, known as Title 42, which allows expulsion. of migrants apprehended at the US-Mexico border. The order, which remains in effect, has made applying for asylum extremely difficult, if not impossible.

“The border is closed to families and single adults, including those seeking refuge from horrific persecution and violence,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the public health order. “We don’t expect the Biden administration to prosecute everyone in the first week, but we need a very quick signal that they are going to open the border and get rid of Title 42.” The Biden administration has yet to say how it intends to proceed with Title 42.

The new administration has hired people who have extensive experience in immigration law and policy, a nod to the challenges officials face at the border as the administration tries to turn the page.

During the transition, incoming officials acknowledged that it would take time to install security protocols and address other logistical issues, such as processing, before reopening the US-Mexico border, according to a source involved in the discussions.

Alejandro Mayorkas, whose nomination to serve as head of the Department of Homeland Security will be voted on Monday after a Republican obstructionism was broken on Thursday, is expected to address the population of people waiting in Mexico as a priority.

“He clearly understands the impact of these policies on real people,” said a source close to Mayorkas. “That is not to say that it is not really difficult, but he knows that this is not something that can be ignored.”

Non-governmental organizations have also brainstormed how to tailor their resources to help asylum seekers who have been waiting, for example by using the national refugee resettlement network to provide integration and case management services.

“The administration understands that they are going to have a courier crisis for many reasons and they want to mitigate that and use systems that are already in place,” said another source involved in the discussions.

But patience is running out for those who have to wait years in Mexico.

“I don’t know if this president will comply with his policies, but at least we could have a better future,” the Cuban migrant told Globe Live Media. “We are very, very desperate. We’ve been here a long time.”

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