The United States could limit the entry of people from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti, who request asylum in the North American country. This measure was implemented a few months ago for Venezuelan migrants, which turned out to be a “success”, according to the authorities, in stopping mass migration.
The Miami Herald newspaper reveals that a final decision on the application of this regulation has not yet been made. However, the authorities are evaluating other options to stop the migration that has intensified in recent months, but they would be similar to those applied a few months ago to Venezuelans entering the border with Mexico.
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On the other hand, the US media outlet El Nuevo Herald states that the discussions are focused on possible new parole programs, which would be a type of temporary admission to the United States. In October, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new initiative for Venezuelans to apply for residency in the United States.
It also reached an agreement with Mexico that allows US border authorities to return Venezuelan immigrants who enter the United States without authorization, citing a massive increase in immigrants from the South American country, these processes could be applied to Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians.
The US Department of Security has cataloged the Venezuelan program as a success, citing a drop of almost 80% in new encounters at the border. But that agreement took weeks to negotiate and a similar understanding would have to be reached with Mexico over the other nationalities.
Additionally, it would require additional staff in the affected countries to process additional immigration applications. For their part, the Venezuelan opposition, immigration advocates and Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Democrat from New Jersey, have criticized the program.
These discussions coincide with the imminent end of Title 42, a measure used during the COVID-19 pandemic, which consists of turning away immigrants at the border for public health reasons. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have used this argument to turn away dozens of asylum seekers arriving at the US-Mexico border. The policy will no longer be in effect after December 20, and authorities will revert to using standard federal immigration law.
Due to the increasing migration to the US, the secretary of national security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said in a statement this past Tuesday, December 13, that “economic and political instability throughout the world is fueling the highest levels migration since World War II.
In the periods of 2021-2022, the US authorities have registered more than 160,000 Nicaraguans at its borders, fleeing difficult economic conditions and increased repression under the Daniel Ortega regime. Official figures show that more than two thousand Nicaraguans were expelled from the US in the same period.
