U.S. Government announces stronger measures to tackle illegal migration.

 On Thursday (April 27, 2023), the US State Department (State) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a raft of sweeping new laws to manage the run-away illegal immigration plaguing the country. According to the State Department's website, the new laws are implemented to reduce "unlawful migration across the Western Hemisphere [and] significantly expand lawful pathways for protection, and facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants."

 These measures were announced two weeks before the ending of the CDC's Title 42 public health order, which was enacted due to COVID-19. The Government however warns that the ending of Title 42 does not mean it will be a free-for-all at the border.

"...the lifting of the Title 42 order does not mean the border is open," the US Government said. "When the Title 42 order lifts at 11:59 PM on May 11, the United States will return to using Title 8 immigration authorities to expeditiously process and remove individuals who arrive at the US border unlawfully."

"These decades-old authorities carry steep consequences for unlawful entry, including at least five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution for repeated attempts to enter unlawfully," it said. 

Additionally, individuals who attempt to cross the border and are caught can no longer claim asylum on entry into the Unites States:

"Individuals who cross into the United States at the southwest border without authorization or having used a lawful pathway, and without having scheduled a time to arrive at a port of entry, would be presumed ineligible for asylum under a new proposed regulation, absent an applicable exception."

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER TITLE 42 EXPIRES:

Here are the penalties which will be imposed once Title 42 expires for people who enter the U.S. unlawfully:

• Illegal immigrants will be processed under the Title 8 legislation's expedited removal authority in a matter of days
• These immigrants will be barred from reentry for at least five years if ordered to be removed
• Ineligible for asylum under the proposed Circumvention of Lawful Pathways regulation, absent an applicable exception

Lawful Pathways

To avoid these consequences under Title 8, the US Government is encouraging immigrants to use the following new measures called "lawful pathways" that were announced on Thursday:

• Expanded Access to the CBPOne App to Appear at a U.S. Port of Entry:

When the Title 42 order lifts, migrants located in Central and Northern Mexico will be able to access to the CBPOne mobile application to schedule an appointment to present themselves at a port of entry rather than trying to enter between ports. CBPOne will make additional appointments available, and the use of this tool will enable safe, orderly, and humane processing.

• New Family Reunification Parole Processes: 

DHS is creating new family reunification parole processes for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia. The agency is also modernizing existing family reunification parole processes for Cuba and Haiti. These processes, once finalized, will allow vetted individuals with already approved family-based petitions to be paroled into the United States, on a case-by-case basis. The U.S. Government will deliver timely and efficient authorization for those approved and vetted to travel. Individuals paroled into the U.S. under these processes would be eligible to apply for work authorization.

• Double Number of Refugees from Western Hemisphere 

The United States will commit to welcoming thousands of additional refugees per month from the Western Hemisphere – with the goal of doubling the number of refugees the United States committed to welcome as part of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. To achieve this goal, the United States is building on processing efficiencies achieved over the last two years and further increasing resources and staffing to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in this region.

In addition, the United States will continue to accept up to 30,000 individuals per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti as part of the expanded parole processes announced earlier this year. Encounters at the border for these nationalities plummeted when DHS expanded the parole programs. The United States will also continue to utilize available authorities to continue to strengthen and expand additional lawful pathways.

The US Government also announced that they will establish Regional Processing Centers (RPCs) in key locations throughout the Western Hemisphere to reduce irregular migration and facilitate safe, orderly, humane, and lawful pathways from the Americas. These centers will be created with cooperation of regional and international partners such as Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala. The migrants from the region will be able to make an appointment on their phone to visit the nearest RPC before traveling, receive an interview with immigration specialists, and if eligible, be processed rapidly for lawful pathways to the United States, Canada, and Spain.

Additional measures:

• Launch an Aggressive Anti-Smuggling Campaign Targeting Criminal Networks in the Darien:

Panama, Colombia and the United States reached an historic agreement to launch a 60-day surge campaign to address the unprecedented migration through the dangerous Darien corridor. The campaign officially launched on April 20 and is focused on disrupting criminal networks that facilitate the illicit movement of people and increasing state presence in the jungle. As the authorities reclaim control of this region and root out criminal actors, migrants are urged to wait and avail themselves of safe, orderly lawful pathways, including new pathways announced today.

• Increase Removals of Those Without a Lawful Basis to Stay: 

The United States, in coordination with our regional partners, has dramatically scaled up the number of removal flights per week. That includes flights to Cuba, which resumed this week following a pause due to COVID-19. The number of weekly flights will double or triple for some countries. With this increase in removal flights, migrants who cross the U.S. border without authorization and who fail to qualify for protection should expect to be swiftly returned with at least a five-year bar to returning. The United States is also collaborating with foreign partners to crack down on criminal networks that charge enormous fees to migrants to facilitate migration by air. Individuals who arrive at international airports in the region with the intent to cross the U.S. border unlawfully should expect to be turned around and subject to consequences. DHS has also made those who attempt to migrate irregularly to the U.S. via dangerous maritime means ineligible for the parole processes announced in January.

• Combat Smuggler Misinformation:

Smugglers are already ramping up misinformation campaigns to profit off of vulnerable migrants ahead of the return to Title 8 processing. To combat this misinformation, State’s diplomatic missions across the hemisphere are broadcasting accurate information about U.S. migration laws and engaging with a wide spectrum of regional audiences to counter smuggler narratives. It will be incumbent upon all elected leaders and stakeholders – regardless of political affiliation – to work to counter smuggler misinformation and propaganda, not contribute to it.

Illegal immigrant Surge

These new measures are considered historic as it is the first of its kind with deepening partnership on immigration across the Western Hemisphere and collaboration from Spain a member of the EU. The agreement is touted to have brought 21 world leaders together during the Ninth Summit of the Americas to discuss and coordinate measures on Migration and Protection, in order to jointly manage migration flows by securing commitments from across the Western Hemisphere to expand lawful pathways, address root causes, and step up enforcement. In attendance were government representatives from Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and of course the United States of America.

The agreement between the nations is called the Los Angeles Declaration since the reps met in the famous city, which itself has experienced a massive influx of illegal immigrants. According to figures from the Migration Policy Institute, in 2019, LA had an illegal immigrant population of 951,000 with more than half coming from Mexico and Central America. The Center for Immigration Studies also estimates that between 2019 - January 2022 there were 11.35 million illegal immigrants in the United States, an increase of 1.13 million compared to January 2021 when President Joe Biden entered the Oval Office in the White House.