Chaos reigned on the U.S.-Mexico border last night as regulations expired on Friday, the so-called Title 42, regulating the flow of asylum seekers to the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic. American services detained many people; people crossing the border ignored orders to turn back.
About 60,000 people are still waiting in Mexico to cross the US border.
“In recent days, thousands of immigrants have crossed rivers, scaled walls and embankments to reach American soil. Some have surrendered to border officials. Others tried to go undetected,” Reuters reported.
The Title 42 replacement legislation umes that most migrants are ineligible for asylum unless they have made the effort by transiting through other countries or applied for it online.
“Even as the old policy expired … immigrant families – some with children – hesitated only briefly when the deadline ped before entering the waters of the Rio Grande, holding cell phones above the water to light the way as US officials shouted to turn around” – noted the AP agency.
As of Friday, immigrants caught illegally entering the US face a five-year ban and criminal prosecution. For this reason, there has been a mive influx of newcomers recently. The chaos was exacerbated by disinformation from people smugglers.
“We see exactly the challenge we expected. We can’t control the movement of people before they reach our border,” US Home Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained Friday on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Over 27,000 people have recently been arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As this was beyond their capabilities, the services were ordered to release people after 60 hours with the obligation to report to the authorities within 60 days.
From New York Andrzej Dobrowolski (PAP)
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