Anticipating the end of the tough law against illegal immigrants forms queues at the US-Mexico border | The National Gazette

1,500 American soldiers are on their way to the Mexican border in Texas. The anticipation of the end of a tough law against illegal immigrants increases movement in that region.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, told the troops: “They will intercept and deport immigrants who try to enter illegally.”

The US Department of Defense will also send 1,500 soldiers to the southern border for a period of three months.

The mobilization is done because, on Thursday (11), a policy called Title 42 is no longer in effect. With this rule in place today, the United States can immediately expel immigrants who enter illegally and who come from countries with health risks.

The rule was implemented at the start of the pandemic in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump. And since it is related to the Covid public health emergency in the United States, which ends on Thursday (11), it will no longer be valid.

Critics say the measure used the pandemic as a pretext to expel migrants.

Now, with the expectation that they will be able to seek asylum in the United States again, migrants are arriving in droves in Mexican cities. Families, with young children, wait for opportunity in the streets and shelters along the border.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has claimed that human traffickers are taking advantage of the situation. “Don’t take chances. Be careful not to deceive the coyotes.”warned.

US officials estimate that as the emergency measure expires, more than 12,000 people could attempt to enter the US illegally — every day. Almost double the current number of crossings.

Three border cities in Texas have declared states of emergency: Brownsville, Laredo and El Paso.

President Joe Biden has implemented drastic measures like those taken by the Donald Trump administration to discourage transit — including an increase in deportations. And now the White House is finalizing a regulation to make entry more difficult for nearly every asylum seeker.

One measure being considered by the White House is forcing migrants to seek asylum before attempting to cross the border.. This is why the director of the Immigration Laboratory at American University, Ernesto Castaneda, explains that the end of Title 42 is not synonymous with open borders.

“This does not mean that it will be easy for Latin Americans to enter the United States. People will not be able to apply for asylum on US soil. So, in a way, Title 42 continues,” he explains.