- Title: US sends first migrants to Mexico in reboot of Trump-era policy
- Date: 9th December 2021
- Summary: CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO (DECEMBER 8, 2021) (REUTERS) VIEW OF EL PASO-JUAREZ INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AGENTS (CBP) ESCORTING DEPORTED MIGRANTS INTO MEXICO DETAIL OF CBP PATCH ON OFFICER´S UNIFORM DEPORTED MIGRANTS SPEAKING WITH CBP AGENT MEXICAN IMMIGRATION (INM) OFFICIALS CHECKING DEPORTED MIGRANTS’ PAPERWORK DEPORTED MIGRANTS STANDING ON INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE INM OFFICIALS CHECKING DEPORTED MIGRANTS’ PAPERWORK DEPORTED MIGRANTS STANDING ON INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE BEING PHOTOGRAPHED BY MEXICAN AUTHORITIES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DEPORTED NICARAGUAN MIGRANT, ENRIQUE MANZANARES, SAYING: "Sad in some way but happy in another because if I go back to Nicaragua I'll be back with my family. In the end, nothing was lost." MANZANARES TALKING TO INM OFFICIAL AT INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE VIEW OF EL PASO-JUAREZ INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE CHIEF OF ATTENTION TO MIGRANTS AT CIUDAD JUAREZ, ARTURO VALENZUELA, DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MIGRANT ATTENTION CENTRE DIRECTOR AT CIUDAD JUAREZ, ARTURO VALENZUELA, saying: "Many people hope to come here and enter the United States, there are people making them believe that precisely because the migrant protection protocols are starting, they will be welcomed at the entry ports and this is not true. Entry ports into the United States are not allowing entrance to those seeking international protection or asylum. Entry ports into the United States are only open to U.S. citizens, legal residents and those carrying a visa." CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO (DECEMBER 7, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING ON THE RIVERSIDE THE EL PASO-JUAREZ BORDER MIGRANT OBSERVING A BORDER PATROL VEHICLE ACROSS THE RIVER MIGRANT REMOVING SHOES VARIOUS OF MIGRANT CROSSING RIVER MIGRANT WALKING NEXT TO BORDER PATROL VEHICLE BEHIND BORDER FENCE
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2021 01:16
- Keywords: Juarez U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States deported immigration migrant protection protocols
- Location: CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO
- City: CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,South America / Central America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001F7BG7D3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United States has returned the first two migrants to Mexico since restarting a Trump-era program to remove asylum seekers from U.S. soil, officials said Wednesday (December 8), as the Biden administration grapples with pressure to curb immigration.
The United States and Mexico last week agreed to relaunch the controversial scheme known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) that obliges asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for U.S. immigration hearings, in keeping with a federal court order.
Mexico made the restart conditional on Washington meeting certain criteria, including offering vaccines to asylum seekers and exempting vulnerable people from expulsion.
The first two migrants returned under the revamped scheme entered Mexico at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez opposite El Paso, Texas, according to a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration.
One of the two men, who identified himself as Enrique Manzanares from Nicaragua, said he felt a little sad, but gave thanks to God that he was still alive.
"In the end, nothing was lost," Manzanares told Reuters.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has struggled to reverse many hardline immigration policies put in place by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and is facing a record number of migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Biden ended MPP soon after his inauguration in January as he sought to pursue what he called a more humane approach to immigration. But a federal judge ruled Biden's move did not follow proper procedure, and in August ordered MPP reinstated.
"Many people hope to come and enter the United States, there are people making them believe that precisely because the migrant protection protocols are starting, they will be welcomed at the entry ports and this is not true," said Arturo Valenzuela, Migrant Attention Centre Director at Ciudad Juarez.
"Entry ports into the United States are only open to U.S. citizens, legal residents and those carrying a visa," Valenzuela told Reuters.
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