Washington
CNN
—
The U.S.-Mexico border is effectively closed to migrants seeking asylum in the United States hours after President Donald Trump took office, an extraordinary break from previous protocols that has left many migrants worried in the dark.
It’s a rare combination of two policies — one from former President Joe Biden and one from Trump — that nearly closed the U.S. southern border to asylum seekers. With refugee admissions also set to be suspended, there are few, if any, options for people seeking refuge in the United States.
Biden’s executive action last summer, restricting asylum to people crossing the border illegally, was condemned by Democrats and immigrant advocates. Biden administration officials have argued that migrants still have the option to make an appointment at a legal port of entry through the border app known as CBP One.
That option was closed minutes after Trump was sworn in, leaving thousands of migrants in limbo and resulting in a border largely closed to asylum seekers.
Migrants waiting for their appointments along Mexico’s northern border expressed shock and disappointment.
Luis, a Venezuelan migrant who has been living in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez for nine months, told CNN’s Valeria León that he was “trying to do things the right way,” before learning that his date was scheduled for Monday through CBP One. the application had been abruptly canceled.
Venezuelan Yenyile Díaz, who also lived for months in Ciudad Juarez with her family, said they all lost their appointments following the closure of CBP One.
“The Biden administration had succeeded in restricting asylum by opening other legal avenues and hoping that it would hold up in court. Right now, there is almost no way to get protection at the U.S. border or anywhere along a route to the United States,” said Andrew Selee, president of the group reflection Migration Policy Institute. “It’s a huge change.”
Republicans have argued that the U.S. asylum system has been exploited in recent years, saying migrants seek asylum even if they don’t meet the definition and might instead come to the United States for economic reasons.
When people seek asylum, they are expected to seek protection from violence or persecution that prevents them from feeling safe in their country of origin or prevents them from safely returning to their country of origin. The process of obtaining asylum can take years and some applications are ultimately rejected.
In an executive order signed Monday, Trump effectively suspended U.S. asylum law until what he called “the invasion of the southern border.” He also ordered federal agencies to “repel, repatriate or expel” migrants crossing the border.
“The decision to eliminate all avenues for seeking asylum, even for families with children fleeing for their lives, is a stunning development, one that makes a mockery of our post-World War II commitment to never return summarily putting people into danger,” said Lee Gelernt, In a statement, the ACLU lawyer led many of the challenges to Trump’s border policies in the first administration.
Covid-era restrictions along the border, known as Title 42, also banned asylum and allowed border officials to turn away migrants. This policy has been challenged in court.
Trump inherits a relatively calm border, as Biden’s asylum restrictions have caused migrant crossings to plummet.
At the start of Trump’s first term, border crossings remained rare as migrants waited to watch and play on his actions. But eventually they increased.
Although it is difficult to predict migration trends, Homeland Security officials warn it could happen again.
“They could wait a while and see what happens. Whether they wait a day or a few months, if they are that determined and determined, they will eventually try anyway,” the Homeland Security official said, referring to the migrants.
Johana Conde, from Cuba, told CNNE from the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras that she was now considering returning home but was not sure what her future held.
“They say they want immigrants to the United States, but legal ones. Obviously, we did all this legally. … Right now we don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.
