From January 25, asylum seekers in the US will be awaiting decisions on their cases in Mexico

The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to start sending asylum seekers back across the southern border of the country to wait for a decision on their case in Mexico.

Фото: Depositphotos

The policy will begin on January 25, reports NBC with reference to sources in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Border and Customs Enforcement Officers (ICE) will start returning asylum-seekers back to Mexico trying to enter the US port of San Isidro (California) from Tijuana (Mexico), where thousands of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are already waiting for decisions on their affairs, living in bad conditions.

In accordance with the current policy, immigrants who pass the initial interview at the asylum, stating about the fear of returning to their homeland, are allowed to remain in the United States while they are waiting for the decision of the immigration judges. Adult immigrants are held up pending a hearing, but the decision of the federal court of 2015 provides that families with children should be detained for no more than 20 days.

The Trump administration has criticized this judgment, claiming that it is a magnet that encourages a record number of families with children to apply for asylum on the southern border. Last summer, within the “zero tolerance” policy, DHS separated parents seeking asylum from their children at the border, which caused international condemnation.

Children who travel without a guardian, immigrants who appear sick, as well as other "vulnerable groups" will be excluded from this policy and will be allowed to wait in the US for a hearing on their asylum cases.

Immigrant and civil rights organizations have threatened to sue the Trump administration if this innovation, dubbed “Migration Protection Policy”, will be brought to life. Head of the Department of Homeland Security Kirsten Nielsen announced her intention to make immigrants wait for a decision on their cases in Mexico back in December.

According to two officials, this policy is a one-sided step by the United States and is not part of the agreement with Mexico, although Mexico has agreed to take care of immigrants who are waiting for an application for asylum in the United States. The administration of Lopez Obrador in Mexico openly declared its opposition to such a policy in the past.

Starting on Friday, asylum seekers in the United States who have arrived at the port of entry in San Isidro will be sent back to Tijuana and will be waiting for notification of the need to appear at a meeting in the San Diego Immigration Court. Their transportation from the port of entry to the immigration court will be provided by ICE. Asylum seekers will also be provided with a 24-hour hotline to check the status of their asylum cases.

Due to excessive workload in US immigration courts, there are more than 800 000 cases left behind, and asylum seekers now have to wait months or even years until they meet with a judge. DHS asked the Department of Justice to speed up the handling of immigrant pending cases in Mexico. According to government sources, such petitioners will wait no more than a year for decisions on their affairs.

The conditions in which the people of Central America find themselves waiting to be able to get to the United States in Tijuana are very bad. Family and children's shelters in Tijuana are overcrowded, and many of them are barely able to meet the basic needs of immigrants.

They also face a response from Tijuana residents who do not want people from other countries to overrun their city. Two boys were lured out of camp by local residents and killed at the end of last year.

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