United States | Hundreds of Latin American migrants protest against Biden’s measures

Nearly 300 Latin American migrants take to the streets of El Paso, in the state of Texas, United States, to protest against the new immigration package of US President Joe Biden.

A few days ago, the president announced that Cuban, Nicaraguan and Haitian citizens who attempt to cross the southern border with Mexico illegally will be expelled immediately and will not be able to enter the US for five years. These migrants join the community of Venezuelans, who were already affected by restrictions last October.

The new measures have constituted what the press considers a dramatic turn in US immigration policy since it expands the use of Title 42, activated in March 2020, by the Government of then-President Donald Trump, as one of the measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Title 42 allows the forcible removal of asylum seekers at the border with Mexico, with the argument of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Since March 2020, this rule has remained in force, expelling more than 2.5 million migrants and causing hundreds of adults, the elderly and children to sleep on the streets in controversial humane conditions.

Last December, the US Supreme Court agreed to keep it running indefinitely until a decision is made.

The mobilization in El Paso occurs hours before the Biden’s first visit to El Pasofrom where he will travel to Mexico City to meet with his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The NGOs that work in the border towns between the two countries affirm that immigration agencies have already begun to increase deportations to Mexico and warn of the increasing level of tension and confusion.

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