Makkah police arrest Yemeni and Egyptian suspects of fake Hajj campaign    400-800 year old giant coral colony discovered within AMAALA waters in the Red Sea    HR Ministry launches 'Ajeer Al-Hajj' service for seasonal work during Hajj 2025    Kafalah grants 1,900 loan guarantees worth over SR4.8 billion to SMEs during 1Q 2025    Council of Senior Scholars reaffirms performing Hajj without a permit is a sinful act    Syria thanks Saudi Arabia and Qatar for settling World Bank dues    King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Uneasy calm in El Paso as Title 42 comes to an end
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 05 - 2023

Thousands of migrants rushed to the US-Mexico border just hours before a Trump-era policy that allowed for their swift removal expired.
As the policy -- known as Title 42 -- neared its end on Thursday night, about 10,000 migrants were crossing the nearly 2,000-mile (3,218km) border each day -- record numbers nearly double the average seen just two months ago.
In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that authorities were "prepared for this transition".
Ahead of the deadline, an uneasy calm descended on the border town of El Paso where makeshift migrant camps on the city's streets have largely been removed.
Still, local authorities and humanitarian organizations are bracing for what some fear may be a difficult-to-manage influx of migrants.
The city's mayor, Oscar Leeser, has warned that an estimated 10,000 migrants are across from El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, waiting for an opportunity to cross.
Along the southern border, about 60,000 are believed to be waiting to cross, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told CBS, the BBC's US partner.
"We're stocking up on food and supplies as much as possible," said Nicole Reulet, marketing director of Rescue Mission El Paso, a local shelter that houses migrants. "Nobody really knows what to expect, or what the numbers will look like. It makes it hard for us to prepare."
On Thursday, about 25,000 migrants were in Border Patrol custody, far exceeding the agency's capacity to hold them.
To reduce overflow, officials had planned to release migrants and tell them to report to an immigration office within 60 days. That effort, however, was blocked by a federal judge in Florida. The Biden administration is expected to appeal.
Several migrants in El Paso told the BBC that they had hurried to the border ahead of the policy change, unsure what the change would mean and confused by rumours and disinformation.
Among them were Jon Uzcategui and his girlfriend Esmaily, both 24 and from Venezuela, who said they were frustrated after multiple attempts to book an asylum appointment using a Customs and Border Patrol-run app - CBP One - had failed.
They said they had been told -- falsely -- by smugglers and other migrants that they would be immediately deported if they presented themselves to US Customs and Border Patrol, prompting them to illegally cross the barriers separating El Paso and Mexico.
"We trusted them, and were starting to move into the US. But we were stopped at a roadblock," said Uzcategui, who was eventually paroled into El Paso after his asylum claim was heard. "The agents told us that was all false."
"All the migrants were talking about 11 May," he added. "But there were lots of rumours. We just knew something was changing."
Far from the border, other cities -- including Chicago and New York -- have reported that they are struggling to cope with the large numbers of migrants travelling up from the southern border.
With Title 42 in place, US authorities were able to swiftly remove migrants crossing the border from Mexico - including asylum seekers - using the pandemic as justification.
Some 2.8 million people were expelled under Title 42 since it was implemented in March 2020, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
Ahead of Title 42's expiry, US officials unveiled a raft of new measures aimed at stemming the flow of migrants, including the opening of regional processing centres in Latin America and expanded use of CBP One to book appointments.
Many, however, will face legal challenges. Those crossing illegally will be deported to their home country or Mexico, barred from re-entering the US for at least five years, and be "presumed ineligible for asylum", according to Customs and Border Protection.
Under Title 42, there were no such consequences.
"Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum," Mr Mayorkas said in a statement just before the policy expired. "We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to be in the US."
"The border is not open," he added.
Despite a warning earlier this week from US President Joe Biden that the border would be "chaotic" for some time in the wake of Title 42, Border Patrol's Raul Ortiz said he did not expect a "huge surge" in the immediate future.
"We're really past the surge," Mr Ortiz was quoted as saying by the El Paso Times.
The new measures taken by immigration officials and efforts to assuage the fears of local residents have done little to reassure many of those who help migrants in El Paso.
"It's going to be a very large challenge for us," said Susan Goodell, the chief executive of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, which has been feeding hundreds of migrants each day on the city's streets.
"We're preparing, to the best of our ability, to find the food that we need to feed people living on the street or in shelters," she said. "With the lifting of Title 42, we think it'll be a short time before we start seeing a large number of migrants coming into the community again."
In the longer term, the lifting of Title 42 is likely to be a contentious political issue in the US. House Republicans, for example, are already considering a package of immigration bills, although they have little chance of passing a Democratic-controlled Senate.
The number of migrants at the US border spiked sharply since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, driven in part by economic woes, insecurity and political repression in countries including Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Since the beginning of his administration, a record 4.6 million have been arrested crossing illegally.
It has now been decades since the US has passed any bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.