One day after telling reporters he intends to visit the U.S. and Mexico border, President Joe Biden announced several initiatives to improve border security.
The announcement comes amid uncertainty over the future of Title 42, the Trump-era order that allowed those seeking asylum to stay in Mexico while they await a hearing. The rule was put in place during the pandemic to stop the spread of COVID-19, but the Biden administration has argued that the policy should end as pandemic-era restrictions relax.
Republicans, however, have fought to keep the policy in place despite largely wanting other pandemic restrictions to disappear.
One major part of the announcement is that the administration will expand the parole process used for Venezuelan nationals to those from Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba. The administration said it will immediately turn away those entering from those nations, but will setup a process for them to gain sponsored entry if they can pass background checks.
Opponents of Title 42 say that U.S. and international law binds the country to allow migrants to remain in the U.S. while awaiting to be processed due to fears of persecution.
Part of Biden’s order stipulates increasing the use of expedited removals. He is ordering that those who enter the U.S. without permission, do not have a legal basis to remain in the U.S., and cannot be expelled under Title 42 will face an expedited return to their country of origin and a five-year ban on reentering.
He is also seeking ways to encourage migrants to use orderly and legal pathways to entry to ease the strain on the immigration system.
The administration also says it plans on expanding legal pathways for “safe, orderly and humane migration.”
The White House said that if Title 42 ends, those seeking to enter the U.S. from Mexico through a port of entry will have access to a mobile application to schedule a time to present themselves for inspection and make an asylum claim. The process, the administration said, would allow for a safer, more orderly process