Biden official says border crossings have halved since Covid rule ended

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the number of people entering the US from the southern border had halved in recent days, despite an increase expected after the end of COVID-19 restrictions.

A rule known as Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed US border agents to quickly deport migrants back to Mexico instead of processing their asylum cases, expired at midnight on Thursday. Republicans who support the continuation of the policy have warned that asylum seekers would increase across the border in response.

Earlier in the week, the number of border “encounters” reported by US officials rose to nearly 10,000 per day as people attempted to enter the US.

Speaking on CNN, Mayorkas said it was “too early” to know whether the number of migrants at the southern border had peaked. But he said border officers were facing “a 50 per cent drop in the number of encounters, versus what we were experiencing in the week before Title 42 ended at midnight on Thursday”.

Mayorkas said the Border Patrol reported 6,300 border encounters on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday.

Speaking on ABC News, Mayorkas suggested the drop in numbers was due to new rules requiring asylum seekers to first seek relief in other countries before they make it to the US.

He said that anyone who enters the US “without using the legal avenues we have provided” or seeking asylum in one of the countries from which they have traveled is not eligible to receive asylum in the US. have to face higher limits.

“We have sent very clearly an important message to those who are thinking about arriving at our southern border: There is a legitimate, safe and orderly way to come into the United States,” Mayorkas said on CNN.

“It’s through those avenues that President Biden has expanded in an unprecedented way.”

He added: “If someone doesn’t use those legitimate routes, it’s a consequence, and the result is expulsion from the United States, a deportation and a five-year ban on re-entry, and possible criminal prosecution.” “

The border issue has become a political liability for Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Migration has reached record numbers across the Americas as countries in the region face political and economic crises. In the past six months, Mexican authorities have recorded migrants from more than 100 countries, some of whom are hoping to cross the border into the US.

Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said there were still “caravans” of migrants coming into the US.

“The fact that the last two and a half years speak for themselves,” McCall said. “We have five million people entering this country illegally. , , It’s not sustainable.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a court challenge against the new asylum rules, saying it duplicates rules issued by former President Donald Trump and later rejected in court.

Earlier this week, Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU, said the new rule from the Biden administration would put asylum seekers in “serious danger” and violate US laws.

“We’ve been down this road before with Trump,” she said.

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the number of people entering the US from the southern border had halved in recent days, despite an increase expected after the end of COVID-19 restrictions.

A rule known as Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed US border agents to quickly deport migrants back to Mexico instead of processing their asylum cases, expired at midnight on Thursday. Republicans who support the continuation of the policy have warned that asylum seekers would increase across the border in response.

Earlier in the week, the number of border “encounters” reported by US officials rose to nearly 10,000 per day as people attempted to enter the US.

Speaking on CNN, Mayorkas said it was “too early” to know whether the number of migrants at the southern border had peaked. But he said border officers were facing “a 50 per cent drop in the number of encounters, versus what we were experiencing in the week before Title 42 ended at midnight on Thursday”.

Mayorkas said the Border Patrol reported 6,300 border encounters on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday.

Speaking on ABC News, Mayorkas suggested the drop in numbers was due to new rules requiring asylum seekers to first seek relief in other countries before they make it to the US.

He said that anyone who enters the US “without using the legal avenues we have provided” or seeking asylum in one of the countries from which they have traveled is not eligible to receive asylum in the US. have to face higher limits.

“We have sent very clearly an important message to those who are thinking about arriving at our southern border: There is a legitimate, safe and orderly way to come into the United States,” Mayorkas said on CNN.

“It’s through those avenues that President Biden has expanded in an unprecedented way.”

He added: “If someone doesn’t use those legitimate routes, it’s a consequence, and the result is expulsion from the United States, a deportation and a five-year ban on re-entry, and possible criminal prosecution.” “

The border issue has become a political liability for Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Migration has reached record numbers across the Americas as countries in the region face political and economic crises. In the past six months, Mexican authorities have recorded migrants from more than 100 countries, some of whom are hoping to cross the border into the US.

Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said there were still “caravans” of migrants coming into the US.

“The fact that the last two and a half years speak for themselves,” McCall said. “We have five million people entering this country illegally. , , It’s not sustainable.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a court challenge against the new asylum rules, saying it duplicates rules issued by former President Donald Trump and later rejected in court.

Earlier this week, Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU, said the new rule from the Biden administration would put asylum seekers in “serious danger” and violate US laws.

“We’ve been down this road before with Trump,” she said.