‘Stuck in limbo’: Metered asylum seekers stranded in Mexico
3 years, 8 months ago

‘Stuck in limbo’: Metered asylum seekers stranded in Mexico

Al Jazeera  

Thousands of migrants on informal waitlists have been in limbo in Mexico for months with no clarity on their fates. “It’s been mostly horrible.” The Strauss Center, a University of Texas research group, says there are at least 16,250 asylum seekers on nine metering waiting lists. On his first day in office, he reversed a legacy of his predecessor Donald Trump called the Migrant Protection Protocols, a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait for their US court dates in Mexico. Those who attempt to cross the border are subject to “Title 42”, a health rule that Trump enacted last year to quickly expel asylum seekers to Mexico or back to their country of origin. “For asylum seekers who are waiting in Mexico now, there’s really no way for them to request protection in the US,” Kizuka told Al Jazeera.

Border Trump Asylum Mexico Biden Migrants Mexican Bier Seekers Mpp Human Rights First Metering Kizuka Gessale  asylum  metered  al  migrants  rights  limbo  stuck  mexico  seekers  told  border  stranded  waitlists  metering

History of this topic

U.S. expands area in Mexico to apply for border asylum appointments, hoping to slow push north
4 months ago

U.S. expands area in Mexico to apply for border asylum appointments, hoping to slow push north

LA Times  

Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state, as they journey toward the U.S. border. World & Nation Migrants play ‘the asylum lottery’ on controversial U.S. government app Depending on whom you ask, the federal immigration app CBP One is a solution to the border crisis, a human rights violation or a ploy to let anyone …

Biden’s asylum halt is falling hardest on Mexicans and other nationalities Mexico will take
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden’s asylum halt is falling hardest on Mexicans and other nationalities Mexico will take

Associated Press  

NOGALES, Mexico — Ana Ruiz was dismayed seeing migrants from some countries released in the United States with orders to appear in immigration court while she and other Mexicans were deported on a one-hour bus ride to the nearest border crossing. Volunteer Edith Garcia prepares soup to serve migrants, mostly Mexican nationals deported from the U.S., at the San Juan …

Some Mexican shelters see crowding south of the border as Biden’s asylum ban takes hold
6 months, 1 week ago

Some Mexican shelters see crowding south of the border as Biden’s asylum ban takes hold

Associated Press  

MATAMOROS, Mexico — Some shelters south of the U.S. border are caring for many more migrants now that the Biden administration stopped considering most asylum requests, while others have yet to see much of a change. In Tijuana, directors of four large shelters said this week that they haven’t received a single migrant deported since the asylum ban took effect. …

Rights advocates slam Biden’s ‘draconian’ asylum curbs at US-Mexico border
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Rights advocates slam Biden’s ‘draconian’ asylum curbs at US-Mexico border

Al Jazeera  

Immigrant rights advocates have slammed President Joe Biden’s new curbs on asylum at the United States-Mexico border, describing the policy as “the most draconian” move since the Democrat entered the White House in 2021. During a news conference on Thursday, Azadeh Erfani, a senior policy analyst at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said Biden’s recent executive order violates both US …

What is the new reality for migrants at the US southern border?
1 year, 6 months ago

What is the new reality for migrants at the US southern border?

Al Jazeera  

On Thursday, May 25 at 19:30 GMT: Earlier this month, as the Biden administration announced the end of the COVID-19 national emergency, the United States also saw the end of a controversial Trump-era public health regulation, known as Title 42. It allowed the US government to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border to seek asylum, on …

Some 50 migrants kidnapped by gang in northern Mexico, president says
1 year, 7 months ago

Some 50 migrants kidnapped by gang in northern Mexico, president says

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — A busload of about 50 migrants were kidnapped by a gang in northern Mexico in the latest of a series of mass abductions, though nine were later found, Mexico’s president and police said Wednesday. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said National Guard troops were searching for the migrants in an area around the northern city of Matehuala. …

Some 50 migrants kidnapped by gang in northern Mexico, president says
1 year, 7 months ago

Some 50 migrants kidnapped by gang in northern Mexico, president says

The Independent  

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Huge number of asylum seekers at US-Mexico border as COVID-19 restrictions end, new rules begin
1 year, 7 months ago

Huge number of asylum seekers at US-Mexico border as COVID-19 restrictions end, new rules begin

Associated Press  

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. U.S. officials have detailed steps they’ve taken, including increasing deportation flights, as they prepare for what many are expecting to be a substantial increase in migrants …

Over 2,000 migrants kidnapped in Mexico last year
1 year, 7 months ago

Over 2,000 migrants kidnapped in Mexico last year

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government said Friday over 2,000 migrants were kidnapped by smuggling gangs and drug cartels last year, as authorities mounted a successful search for 10 Colombians abducted in northern Mexico this week. Mexico’s national immigration agency said authorities had freed 2,115 migrants of all nationalities kidnapped by gangs in 2022. Prosecutors in the northern border state of …

Over 1,000 migrants, angered by asylum policies, rush to US-Mexico border
1 year, 8 months ago

Over 1,000 migrants, angered by asylum policies, rush to US-Mexico border

Firstpost  

Ciudad Juarez : More than a thousand migrants in northern Mexico surrendered to U.S. border authorities, frustrated by recent asylum policies, and shaken by a fire at a nearby migrant detention center that killed dozens this week. A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the agency was processing over a thousand migrants who turned themselves in on Wednesday in El …

US bears ‘moral weight’ of Mexico migrant tragedy: Advocates
1 year, 8 months ago

US bears ‘moral weight’ of Mexico migrant tragedy: Advocates

Al Jazeera  

Ciudad Juarez blaze that killed at least 38 migrants comes amid increasingly restrictive policies at US-Mexico border. US Customs and Border Protection has been allowing people to seek asylum at a US port of entry only after they secure an appointment through a mobile app that immigrant rights groups say is “unreliable”. “It is just a mountain of countries that …

Hundreds of migrants attempt to storm the US-Mexico border
1 year, 9 months ago

Hundreds of migrants attempt to storm the US-Mexico border

Firstpost  

Images on social media showed a group that included many women and children running towards the border, shouting “to the USA.” Mexico: Hundreds of people tried to storm the US-Mexico border on Sunday, after a rumor that migrants would be allowed to cross into the United States. Images on social media showed a group that included many women and children …

The Three Amigos and the US war on asylum seekers in Mexico
1 year, 11 months ago

The Three Amigos and the US war on asylum seekers in Mexico

Al Jazeera  

For decades, Mexican leaders have promised more humane migration policies only to wage a brutal war on migrants on behalf of the US. For his first international foray of 2023, United States President Joe Biden has swung down to Mexico City to attend the latest iteration of the North American Leaders’ Summit, charmingly dubbed the “Three Amigos Summit”. One major …

Photos: Uncertainty among asylum seekers at border over US rules
2 years ago

Photos: Uncertainty among asylum seekers at border over US rules

Al Jazeera  

Thousands of asylum seekers have converged on the US border with Mexico, anticipating the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions, but there is no clear indication of what the process might be to enter the United States. People have been denied rights to seek asylum under US and international law 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing COVID-19 under …

Migrants gather in Mexico near U.S. border as Trump asylum restrictions near expiration
2 years ago

Migrants gather in Mexico near U.S. border as Trump asylum restrictions near expiration

LA Times  

Senda de Vida 2 in Reynosa, Mexico, is among the shelters housing more would-be asylum seekers this week. Thousands of migrants packed shelters on Mexico’s border with the United States on Friday as the end neared for Trump-era asylum restrictions. U.S. border cities, most notably El Paso, Texas, are also facing a daily influx of migrants that the Biden administration …

Mexican asylum seekers set their sights north — on Canada
2 years ago

Mexican asylum seekers set their sights north — on Canada

Associated Press  

MONTREAL — Pedro Meraz says living in Colima, Mexico, was like living in a war zone, with shootings, burning cars and dismembered bodies being left outside of schools. In Canada, claimants must meet the United Nations’ definition of a “convention refugee,” meaning they are outside of their home countries and have a well-founded fear that they would be persecuted if …

Migrants from three countries are driving the spike in encounters at the southern border, swamping a backlogged immigration system
2 years, 2 months ago

Migrants from three countries are driving the spike in encounters at the southern border, swamping a backlogged immigration system

CNN  

CNN — A 4-year-old girl wipes her mother’s tears inside a migrant respite center in El Paso, Texas. She says those are the risks women take to flee “dictatorship and much poverty” in her home country, where people have no “freedom of expression.” The Castros were among the more than 580,000 migrants who were apprehended at the US southern border …

First confusion, and finally some relief, as ‘Remain in Mexico’ begins to wind down in San Diego
2 years, 4 months ago

First confusion, and finally some relief, as ‘Remain in Mexico’ begins to wind down in San Diego

LA Times  

Moments after his immigration case was heard Wednesday, a 51-year-old Cuban asylum seeker sat on a bench in the back of the courtroom and wept openly. “Before, I was not free.” The man was among the first migrants released from MPP this past week with the Biden administration’s announcement that the program was ending, following a lengthy legal battle in …

US scraps ‘remain in Mexico’ policy after Supreme Court ruling
2 years, 4 months ago

US scraps ‘remain in Mexico’ policy after Supreme Court ruling

Al Jazeera  

The Department of Homeland Security says the Migrant Protection Protocols programme will be unwound ‘quickly’. The United States says it has ended a Trump-era policy requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings on their immigration status following a Supreme Court ruling in favour of President Joe Biden’s bid to scrap the initiative. The Migrant Protection Protocols programme, informally …

US detention of asylum seekers ‘inhumane and wasteful’: Report
2 years, 8 months ago

US detention of asylum seekers ‘inhumane and wasteful’: Report

Al Jazeera  

Human Rights First says asylum seekers were jailed on average for 3.7 months after being allowed into the United States. “Jailing asylum seekers is fundamentally dehumanising and cruel,” said Becky Gendelman, an associate attorney for research refugee protection at the group and the report’s author. The report, entitled “‘I’m a prisoner here’: Biden administration policies lock up asylum seekers”, found …

For many asylum-seekers, flying to Mexico is ticket to US
2 years, 10 months ago

For many asylum-seekers, flying to Mexico is ticket to US

Associated Press  

SOMERTON, Ariz. — Seated on a metal folding chair in the front row among dozens of asylum-seekers awaiting COVID tests in Arizona, Gloria Estela Vallora reaped the benefits of her Colombian passport. Mexico’s Interior Department said the latest move responded to a tenfold increase in Venezuelans traveling “in an irregular manner to a third country,” a clear reference to the …

Mexican authorities evict Tijuana migrant camp near border
2 years, 10 months ago

Mexican authorities evict Tijuana migrant camp near border

Associated Press  

TIJUANA, Mexico — About a hundred members of the police, National Guard and army on Sunday evicted 381 migrants, mainly Central Americans and Mexicans, from a makeshift camp they had been staying in for almost a year in Tijuana at the U.S. border crossing. “It’s inhumane because they did it at dawn and the children were asleep,” said Mexican migrant …

Mexico steps up migrant raids in city near Guatemalan border
2 years, 10 months ago

Mexico steps up migrant raids in city near Guatemalan border

Associated Press  

TAPACHULA, Mexico — Mexican immigration agents and National Guard have stepped up raids on migrants staying in small hotels and on the streets of the southern city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, activists said Thursday. The city has become a sort of way station for migrants from Central America, Haiti, Cuba and other places, because Mexico requires many people …

Number of migrants detained in Mexico surged 78% in January
2 years, 10 months ago

Number of migrants detained in Mexico surged 78% in January

The Independent  

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Number of migrants detained in Mexico surged 78% in January
2 years, 10 months ago

Number of migrants detained in Mexico surged 78% in January

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — The number of migrants detained in Mexico surged 78% in January from a year ago, Mexico’s National Immigration Institute said Monday. Children and youths under age 18 made up 14.5% of the migrants detained, and a total of 780 were found to be unaccompanied by family members, the agency said. Migrants smugglers in Mexico have recently been …

Mexico says refugee requests tripled in 2021
3 years ago

Mexico says refugee requests tripled in 2021

Al Jazeera  

Mexico has a relatively simple asylum process and approves more than 95 percent of applications, foreign minister says. Applications for refugee status in Mexico have roughly tripled this year compared with 2020, the government has said, in the face of a significant influx of people bound for the United States. The country has received 123,187 requests in 2021, up from …

‘Remain in Mexico’ policy exposes migrants to horrific abuse
3 years ago

‘Remain in Mexico’ policy exposes migrants to horrific abuse

Al Jazeera  

Under the recently reinstated policy, asylum seekers at the US border are vulnerable to ‘torture, rape, and death’. The United States is restarting the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which people seeking asylum are forced to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are pending in the US. The decision by …

‘Remain in Mexico’: US sends 2 men to Mexico under revived policy
3 years ago

‘Remain in Mexico’: US sends 2 men to Mexico under revived policy

Al Jazeera  

Policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for US court cases has been denounced as a ‘humanitarian disaster’. US President Joe Biden’s administration and the Mexican government announced last week that they had reached an agreement to relaunch the controversial programme, also known as “Remain in Mexico”. The move drew widespread condemnation from international observers and human rights groups …

US will resume policy for asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico
3 years ago

US will resume policy for asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico

Associated Press  

SAN DIEGO — Migrants seeking to enter the United States will again have to stay in Mexico as they await immigration hearings, as the Biden administration reluctantly announced plans Thursday to reinstate the Trump-era policy and agreed to Mexico’s conditions for resuming it. Mexico’s foreign relations secretary said in light of U.S. concessions Mexico will allow returns, expected to begin …

At US-Mexico border, asylum seekers maintain hope amid hardships
3 years, 1 month ago

At US-Mexico border, asylum seekers maintain hope amid hardships

Al Jazeera  

The US reopened its borders this week to non-essential travellers, but most asylum seekers continue to be turned away. Makeshift camps house hundreds along the US-Mexico border, where US authorities this fiscal year detained a record-high 1.7 million migrants trying to enter the country. I want to go to the United States, but with my mom,” a girl named Evelyn, …

EXPLAINER: Mexico confronts complex position on immigration
3 years, 3 months ago

EXPLAINER: Mexico confronts complex position on immigration

India TV News  

Mexico has faced immigration pressures from the north, south and within its own borders in recent weeks, putting it in an increasingly difficult position. Thousands of migrants continue to cross its southern border, the United States sends thousands more back from the north and there’s the renewed prospect of the U.S. making asylum seekers wait in Mexico for long periods …

Judge opposes U.S. government forcing wait on asylum seekers in Mexico
3 years, 3 months ago

Judge opposes U.S. government forcing wait on asylum seekers in Mexico

The Hindu  

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the U.S. government's practice of denying migrants a chance to apply for asylum on the Mexican border until space opens up to process claims, is unconstitutional. The judge, ruling in a lawsuit filed nearly four years ago, unequivocally backed criticisms that U.S. officials did not monitor the waiting lists, which were subject to …

Mexico faces migration crises on northern, southern borders
3 years, 3 months ago

Mexico faces migration crises on northern, southern borders

Al Jazeera  

Mexico has faced immigration pressures from the north, south and within its own borders in recent weeks, putting it in an increasingly difficult position. Mexico’s northern border Concern has been growing in northern Mexico since the US Supreme Court ordered the restart of the controversial programme that made asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases are processed. The Trump-era …

‘We can’t survive’: Migrants in Mexico protest slow asylum system
3 years, 3 months ago

‘We can’t survive’: Migrants in Mexico protest slow asylum system

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers join caravan bound for Mexico City to demand expedited asylum proceedings. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers from Central America and the Caribbean departed the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on Saturday in a caravan headed to the country’s capital, where they hoped to seek expedited asylum proceedings. The caravan comes after days of …

Conditions worsen at asylum seekers’ camps in north Mexico
3 years, 5 months ago

Conditions worsen at asylum seekers’ camps in north Mexico

Associated Press  

TIJUANA, México — Crowding and unsanitary conditions are getting worse at informal camps set up in northern Mexico by asylum seekers waiting to make asylum claims in the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden has abandoned some of former president Donald Trump’s hardline policies, most notably one that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. …

U.S. gives more asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico another shot
3 years, 6 months ago

U.S. gives more asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico another shot

The Hindu  

Thousands of asylum-seekers whose claims were dismissed or denied under a Trump administration policy that forced them to wait in Mexico for their court hearings will be allowed to return for another chance at humanitarian protection, the U.S. Registration begins on June 23 for asylum-seekers who were subject to the “Remain in Mexico” policy and either had their cases dismissed …

Asylum seekers with cases closed under ‘Remain in Mexico’ can come to U.S. to pursue claims
3 years, 6 months ago

Asylum seekers with cases closed under ‘Remain in Mexico’ can come to U.S. to pursue claims

LA Times  

A family from Honduras waits in Mexico in March, more than a year after being refused asylum. Asylum seekers under the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy whose cases were closed — many for reasons beyond their control, including kidnappings and court rulings against the government — will now be able to come into the U.S. to pursue asylum claims, the …

Migration at US-Mexico border still high, despite Biden’s efforts
3 years, 6 months ago

Migration at US-Mexico border still high, despite Biden’s efforts

Al Jazeera  

More than 180,000 migrants crossed into the US border in May, a 20-year high and up slightly from last month. The number of migrants arriving in the United States through its southern border with Mexico remained high during the month of May, despite sustained diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration to stem the surge. According to statistics published by the …

U.S. formally ends policy for asylum seekers to wait in Mexico
3 years, 6 months ago

U.S. formally ends policy for asylum seekers to wait in Mexico

LA Times  

The Biden administration on Tuesday formally ended a Trump-era immigration policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. A seven-page memo by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas marked the end of the Migrant Protection Protocols, which returned about 70,000 asylum seekers to Mexico from January 2019 until it was halted on President …

US eases asylum restrictions at border amid legal challenges
3 years, 7 months ago

US eases asylum restrictions at border amid legal challenges

Associated Press  

MCALLEN, Texas — Domingo Antonio Zeledon traveled for nearly three weeks from his hometown in Nicaragua, leaving behind his wife and three youngest children to come to the United States with his 17-year-old son. Homeland Security said it was “working to streamline a system for identifying and lawfully processing particularly vulnerable individuals who warrant exceptions for humanitarian reasons under the …

‘I don’t feel safe’: Migrants face attacks, threats in Mexico
3 years, 8 months ago

‘I don’t feel safe’: Migrants face attacks, threats in Mexico

Al Jazeera  

New report finds 492 attacks against migrants stuck at US-Mexico border or expelled from US to Mexico since January 21. “That Title 42 continues to be affirmed as a public health measure is deeply troubling,” said Nicole Ramos, director of the border rights project at Al Otro Lado, a legal and humanitarian aid group. Since January 21, the day after …

Migration surged at US-Mexico border in March, data shows
3 years, 8 months ago

Migration surged at US-Mexico border in March, data shows

Al Jazeera  

Authorities caught more than 171,000 migrants trying to enter the US last month, the most in at least 15 years. More than 171,000 migrants were caught trying to cross into the United States from Mexico in March, new border patrol data shows. The data offers an alarming new measure of the scope of the humanitarian challenge confronting President Joe Biden …

Migrant who crossed into Texas from Mexico warns flood of asylum seekers will continue to worsen
3 years, 9 months ago

Migrant who crossed into Texas from Mexico warns flood of asylum seekers will continue to worsen

Daily Mail  

A migrant who crossed into Texas from Mexico has warned that the flood of asylum seekers will only continue to worsen under Joe Biden's relaxed immigration policies. A migrant who crossed into Texas from Mexico warned that the flood of asylum seekers will only continue to worsen under Joe Biden's relaxed immigration policies in an interview with Fox News on …

Asylum seekers waiting in Mexico rattled by delays to US entry
3 years, 10 months ago

Asylum seekers waiting in Mexico rattled by delays to US entry

Al Jazeera  

President Joe Biden has promised to roll back Trump-era programme that forced migrants to remain in Mexico pending US hearings. The United States has abruptly cancelled plans to bring asylum seekers into Texas at two ports of entry, dashing the hopes of hundreds who have been waiting for months in Mexico under a Trump-era policy President Joe Biden promised to …

US lets in asylum-seekers stuck in Mexico, ends Trump policy
3 years, 10 months ago

US lets in asylum-seekers stuck in Mexico, ends Trump policy

The Hindu  

After waiting months and sometimes years in Mexico, people seeking asylum in the United States are being allowed into the country starting Friday as they wait for courts to decide on their cases, unwinding one of the Trump administration’s signature immigration policies that President Joe Biden vowed to end. U.S. officials are warning people not to come to the U.S.-Mexico …

First batch of asylum seekers waiting in Mexico allowed into US
3 years, 10 months ago

First batch of asylum seekers waiting in Mexico allowed into US

Al Jazeera  

In a reversal of a Trump-era policy, more than 25,000 asylum seekers will be allowed to pursue their claims in the US. “These people were pre-selected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as being particularly vulnerable and they were the first people to be processed,” Taylor Levy, an immigration lawyer based in California who represents asylum seekers …

Biden to slowly allow 25,000 people seeking asylum into US
3 years, 10 months ago

Biden to slowly allow 25,000 people seeking asylum into US

Hindustan Times  

The Biden administration on Friday announced plans for tens of thousands of people who are seeking asylum and have been forced to wait in Mexico under a Trump-era policy to be allowed into the U.S. while their cases wind through immigration courts. President Joe Biden's administration declined to publicly identify the three crossings out of fear it may encourage a …

Biden to slowly allow 25,000 people seeking asylum into US
3 years, 10 months ago

Biden to slowly allow 25,000 people seeking asylum into US

Associated Press  

SAN DIEGO — The Biden administration on Friday announced plans for tens of thousands of people who are seeking asylum and have been forced to wait in Mexico under a Trump-era policy to be allowed into the U.S. while their cases wind through immigration courts. President Joe Biden’s administration declined to publicly identify the three crossings out of fear it …

Biden immigration policy stirs confusion at Mexico border
3 years, 10 months ago

Biden immigration policy stirs confusion at Mexico border

LA Times  

Salvadoran asylum seeker Karla Rivera Hernandez, 24, holds her 1-year-old son Mateo A. Rivera on Thursday at a bus station in Brownsville, Texas, as they wait to go to the airport. Rivera, 24, a single mother working as a cook, left for the border last month hoping President Biden’s new immigration policies would allow her to stay in the U.S. …

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