Biden administration to establish migrant processing centers in Latin America

With two weeks to go until the repeal of Title 42 (scheduled for May 11), the Joe Biden administration will establish processing centers for migrants in Latin American countries, a strategy to reduce pressure on Mexico’s border and more than 2 million foreigners detained in fiscal year 2022, the vast majority seeking asylum.

POLITICO reports that the Biden administration will announce plans this Thursday to open immigration processing centers across Latin America to help reduce the number of immigrants coming to the United States.

The new project, which will operate under a number of regional ports, will have bases in Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador and eventually Costa Rica, according to a memorandum, the release said.

At these locations, US DHS officials process asylum applications before migrants arrive at the southern border between the US and Mexico.

Their fear is that the new program will be added to the Temporary Asylum Pilot Program, which sends asylum agents from the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to Border Patrol agents.

Previously, another temporary program implemented by Biden in May of last year allowed asylum agents to operate after Border Patrol agents first determined probable cause for asylum. The discretionary powers allowed USCIS agents the right to grant asylum, something that until then only immigration judges could do.

The second plan, announced Jan. 5, requires unauthorized citizens of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua to enter the United States only if they have a sponsor approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Venezuela has participated in the program since October 2022.

Those without a sponsor, from countries not on the list, and without authorization or permission to enter the U.S. must go to the government’s CBP page to find a current legal program, such as asylum. Requirements and wait for a summons to arrive.

Title 42, a public health policy dating back to 1942, was implemented in March 2020 as part of efforts to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. But then-Donald Trump’s administration and current Joe Biden’s administration have used the tool to expedite the deportation of immigrants.

In the more than 3 years it has been in effect, more than 2.2 million foreigners have been deported to Mexico and thousands have tried to enter the country more than once, only to be detained and deported again.

The new temporary immigration plan will be announced this Thursday by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

The White House will release a fact sheet on regional processing centers and other efforts to prepare for the end of Title 42, scheduled for May 11.

Univision News reported Wednesday that the government is finalizing details of its border policy to strengthen control of the southern border after repealing Title 42.

In addition to the temporary policies, DHS has reiterated that it will continue to expedite the removal of aliens at the border under Title 8 of the Immigration Act (INA) for inadmissible reasons.