(Ciudad Juárez) An unusual influx of migrants has been recorded at the Mexico-United States border one week before the lifting of Title 42, a restrictive migration measure reactivated during the pandemic.
Hundreds of people from Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Peru and Venezuela were waiting at the Juarez/El Paso border on Wednesday to seek asylum from US authorities.
Large queues have formed since Sunday and migrants wait in very cold temperatures at night.
“We see hundreds of people very cold, without food, trying to warm up a bit,” denounced Fernando Garcia, of a human rights NGO, pointing to the “decomposition of American migration policy”.
Title 42, introduced by former President Donald Trump, allows migrants to be deported without any procedure.
In mid-November, a US judge ruled that Title 42 was being used “arbitrarily” to block asylum claims.
The same judge gave the Biden administration five weeks to lift Title 42 and prepare for the massive influx of migrants. It will be lifted on December 21.