US records lowest number of migrants detained at border in two years

Authorities attribute decline to expansion of Title 42, controversial health regulation to allow removals of Haitian, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants

EFE/EPA/NICOLAS DATICHE President of the United States, Joe Biden

The number of arrests of migrants trying to cross the southern border of the U.S irregularly reached the lowest level in two years in January 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said this Tuesday, 7. Authorities attribute the drop to the expansion in early January of Title 42, a regulation of controversial health policy to allow removals of Haitian, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants. As of January 31, arrests of people of these three nationalities, along with Venezuelans, who have been subject to Title 42 since October, dropped to an average of 95 per day, down 95% from the 1,231 daily arrests reported at the beginning of the month, according to a DHS official. “January saw the lowest number of Border Patrol arrests since February 2021,” said one official. The use of Title 42 by the government of Joe Biden was widely criticized by human rights organizations and even by some members of the Democratic Party. In late January, a group of 80 Democratic congressmen, led by Senator Robert Menéndez, called on the government to reverse its decision to expel people from Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti who cross the border into Mexico. “Title 42 ridicules national and international law,” the congressmen wrote.

The Biden administration has defended itself against criticism by arguing that it is obligated to continue implementing the program by order of the Supreme Court, which in December accepted a petition from about 20 Republican states and ruled that Title 42 should remain in effect. The norm, inherited from the mandate of the former president donald trump (2017-2021), has allowed more than 2.5 million arrests since it took effect in 2020, according to data from the International Rescue Committee.

*With information from EFE

Source: Jovempan

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