This week, President Joe Biden's administration will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the United States-Mexico border without first seeking a legal pathway.
Asylum-seekers will soon be turned away at the border if they did not apply online ahead of time, or seek it in another country they passed through. The measures are meant to crackdown on illegal border crossings after the end of Title 42.
The policies were first put forth in January by the Biden Administration, and will be in finalization Wednesday. In 2019, former president Donald Trump's administration proposed similar but stricter measures, which were blocked by a federal court. Biden's proposals will likely also face challenges.
The Biden Administration also announced plans to open 100 regional hubs in the Western hemisphere in an effort to create more legal pathways for migrants, and encourage their use. Two have been announced in in Guatemala and Colombia, but it is not yet clear where the other locations will be.
As Title 42 comes to an end, around 24,000 law enforcement officers, as well as 1,500 active-duty military troops and 2,500 National Guard troops, are stationed along the southern border. Migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua will be turned away to Mexico if they did not apply online in advance, if they do not have a sponsor, and if they do not pass a background check.
According to the Human Rights Watch, migrants who are forced to wait in Mexican border cities often face danger or serious harm from criminal organizations. Migrants are vulnerable to kidnapping, sexual assault, and physical violence.
"All arriving migrants, regardless of how they enter the US, have a right to claim asylum under US law," the organization said. "Biden should instead expand safe processes to include people fleeing harmful effects of climate change, returning to places in the US where they resided for many years, or reuniting with family."
