The policy, known as Title 42, is due to end on Dec. 21, and thousands of asylum seekers have been lining up at the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the easing of restrictions…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden was urged by both Democrat and GOP lawmakers for actions to manage an expected wave of asylum seekers at southern border as Covid-19-related restrictions are about to end this week, media reported.
The border states are preparing for an influx of asylum seekers after a US judge in November moved to strike down a policy enacted by the former administration under Donald Trump that has allowed migration authorities to rapidly send asylum seekers back to Mexico and other countries, Reuters reported.
The policy, known as Title 42, is due to end on Dec. 21, and thousands of asylum seekers have been lining up at the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the easing of restrictions, it was reported.
On Saturday, the west Texas border city of El Paso declared a state of emergency, citing hundreds of migrants sleeping on the streets in cold temperatures and the thousands being apprehended every day.
“It’s a very dire situation,” Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, a Republican, told CBS’s “Face the Nation”.
Gonzales asked Biden to revive past policies that tried to speed up asylum review and expedite deportations.
Meanwhile, Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who also represents Texas, urged Biden to enact a policy requiring people to only request asylum at official border crossing points, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, US federal government is taking Arizona and its top officials to court, demanding the state remove a makeshift border wall along the Mexico border constructed of garish shipping containers, but the outgoing Republican Governor shows no signs of relenting.
The complaint against the Grand Canyon State was filed by the Justice Department in US District Court in Arizona on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
It said the barrier’s construction constitutes trespassing on federal lands and requested the containers be removed and further placement be halted.
“The State of Arizona … has entered and occupied lands owned by the US and managed by the US Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the .S Department of the Interior, and the US Forest Service, an agency of the US Department of Agriculture, without obtaining the required permits or authorization,” the 21-page lawsuit read.
“In particular, Arizona has entered Reclamation and Forest Service lands along the Arizona-Mexico border and installed — and continues to install — hundreds of double-stacked multi-ton shipping containers that damage federal lands, threaten public safety, and impede the ability of federal agencies and officials, including law enforcement personnel, to perform their official duties,” it added.
The move has further escalated the fight between outgoing Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and President Joe Biden’s administration over border enforcement since August.
On August 12, Ducey issued an executive order telling the state’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to use shipping containers to fill 1,000-foot gaps in the border wall along Arizona’s southern border with Mexico near the city of Yuma.
However, Ducey’s original scope for the project has mushroomed significantly.
“Arizona has had enough” with the Biden administration’s “open border policy”, Ducey had claimed in the August statement, adding that “we can’t wait any longer”, and that, “the Biden administration’s lack of urgency on border security is a dereliction of duty”.