Immigration rights advocates are calling on the Biden administration to come to terms with its “commitments” to asylum seekers, such as a caravan of thousands of Hondurans to the US border.
“We recognize the importance of the incoming U.S. government demonstrating a strong commitment to migrants and asylum seekers, which offers the governments of Mexico and Central America an opportunity to develop policies and management of asylum. migration that respects and promotes the human rights of the mobile population, “Pueblo Sin Fronteras said in a statement reported by Fox News.
“We will advocate for the Biden government to live up to its commitments.”
The statement comes when more than 1,000 people from a Honduran caravan moved to Guatemala on Friday. The caravan, which includes more than 5,000 people in total, could be the first to reach the U.S. border after Biden took office.
Pueblo Sin Fronteras called on Biden to work with the Mexican government and Central American countries to address the roots of illegal immigration.
The Biden administration needs to “dismantle illegal and inhumane programs such as Remain in Mexico, U.S. asylum cooperation agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, as well as the expulsions of Title 42 by the United States.” U.S. authorities, “he said.
The Title 42 program allows Customs and Border Protection officials to immediately evict anyone crossing the border illegally in their country from the latest traffic.
Staying in Mexico, implemented in January 2019, requires U.S. asylum seekers to stay in the country while waiting for U.S. immigration courts to hear their cases.
The Biden administration has promised a more humane approach to illegal migrants and a reversal of some of President Trump’s most controversial policies, but has warned that the changes will not happen overnight.
“Our priority is to reopen asylum processing at the border in accordance with the ability to do so with safety and protection of public health, especially in the context of COVID-19,” the adviser said. of Biden policy, Susan Rice, in a recent interview with Spanish cabling service FFE.
“This effort will begin immediately, but it will take months to develop the capacity we will need to fully reopen.”