migration
Record number of illegal family entry into the US
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico to the United States climb a barbed wire fence in Texas. photo
© Eric Gay/AP
According to one report, at least 91,000 people entered the US illegally as part of a family group in August – a record. The topic should now also move back into focus during the election campaign.
The number of migrant families illegally entering the Entering the United States hit a record in August. US patrols on the southern border have arrested at least 91,000 people as part of a family group, the Washington Post reported, citing preliminary figures.
The previous monthly record came from May 2019 – i.e. before the corona pandemic – and was almost 84,500 arrests. At that time, Republican Donald Trump was in government.
Topic could move into focus during election campaign
That influx has thwarted efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration to discourage parents from illegally entering the country with their children, the newspaper wrote. In addition, the issue of migration could move back into the focus of the presidential election campaign.
Mexico is on the route of people trying to get to the United States, mostly from Central and South America. They are fleeing poverty, violence and political crises in their countries.
Arrests at the southern border are up more than 30 percent overall for two consecutive months, according to the Washington Post, after falling sharply in May and June. In August there were a total of around 177,000 arrests – compared to around 133,000 in July and almost 100,000 in June.
Biden administration: penalties will be tightened
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security quoted the newspaper as saying that the Democrat Biden administration is trying to limit illegal border crossings by expanding legal options for entry while at the same time increasing penalties. The government increased the number of deportation flights with families in August and has repatriated more than 17,000 parents and children since May.
With the lifting of the Corona emergency in the United States, the controversial deportation practice under the so-called Title 42, which had been introduced in March 2020 during Trump’s tenure, expired in May. Referring to the pandemic, she made it easier for migrants to be rejected quickly – even before they could even apply for asylum.
Since then, the US has reverted to using a different rule that no longer allows deportation of migrants without due process. Stricter rules apply to illegal entries. In the case of an illegal immigration attempt, a five-year re-entry ban as well as fines and prison sentences can be imposed.