Members of the Texas National Guard speak to a group of migrants in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, May 13, 2023. /CFP
With tough new asylum rules in place, many migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border were seeking legal routes Saturday to enter the United States, despite warnings of a chaotic surge in crossings.
U.S. President Joe Biden's right-wing opponents predicted a rush across the border after pandemic-era restrictions allowing for immediate expulsion ended at midnight Thursday.
In the days leading up to the rule changes, thousands of migrants had tried to enter the United States. Among them, Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, a 17-year-old unaccompanied Honduran migrant, has died in a refugee shelter in Safety Harbor, Florida.
The death of Espinoza is the second such death in two months as an unaccompanied four-year-old Honduran migrant child died in mid-March.
However, so far the predicted surge failed to materialize, because anyone crossing the border illegally now faces a five-year ban on applying for legal entry as well as possible criminal charges.
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Asylum seekers are supposed to set up an interview appointment through a smartphone application called CBP One or processing centers the U.S. plans in Colombia, Guatemala and other countries.
But migrants say using the app is a lottery, despite Washington's promise to increase the number of appointments available each day to 1,000.
Migrants at a makeshift camp between fences on the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, California, U.S., May 12, 2023. /CFP
Political controversy
The policy shift has been contentious, with Biden's supporters on the left saying the new rules are too strict while opponents on the right have claimed, without evidence, that he is "opening the borders."
Guatemala said that it was bracing for a major humanitarian situation there because it would have to offer shelter to migrants in transit applying for U.S. asylum.
Mexico said Friday that the number of U.S.-bound migrants crossing its territory was ebbing and the situation at the frontier was calm.
The national immigration agency ordered its offices to stop issuing documents authorizing migrants to transit through Mexico, authorities announced.
The legal channels available to migrants also include family reunification programs and humanitarian permits for Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans.
In any of these cases, however, migrants must process their claims before arriving at ports of entry.
There are a few exceptions, such as if they were denied asylum in a transit country, have been unable to use the CBP One app, or in the case of unaccompanied children.
A particular fear of human rights campaigners is that the situation will continue to be exploited by people smugglers who have turned illegal migration into a multimillion-dollar business.
"Some of the most cruel solutions produce disorder and empower people smugglers," said David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
"The IRC is convinced that there is a practical, safe and orderly way through the current situation, grounded in international experience," he added.
(With input from AFP)