The Biden administration announces a new border crackdown

While still vowing to end the measure, the administration has extended it to immigrants from more countries. In early January, it unveiled a plan to use it to bring back a new flood of transients from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, while simultaneously creating a program that would enable citizens of those countries to apply for parole to enter the United States from their own country. Countries of origin if they have a financial sponsor.

Since the beginning of this program, the total number of illegal crossings has decreased by 97 percent. On the call with reporters Tuesday, administration officials said the rollback demonstrated that pairing a humanitarian program with punitive measures with consequences for illegal transients was effective.

In its proposed regulation, the administration said projections are that lifting Title 42 could lead to an increase in border crossings to 13,000 encounters per day, from last year’s high of about 7,000 per day, and the absence of policy changes and a mechanism to quickly remove those who arrive without permission.

He cited the growing impact of climate change on immigration, political instability in many countries, an evolving recovery from the pandemic, and the uncertainty created by border litigation among the factors prompting migrants to try to cross into the United States.

Under the proposed rule, asylum seekers who arrive at an official port of entry and claim asylum would be allowed entry if they meet initial criteria and use a mobile app, known as CBP One, to schedule an appointment with US authorities to review their application. But those crossing illegally between ports of entry, if caught, would have to prove that they were denied safe harbor while crossing into the US, such as from Guatemala or Mexico, to be allowed entry.

The mobile app, which aims to provide an orderly and streamlined system for processing asylum seekers, has been in use since January, but the system has been saddled with overwhelming demand and plagued by glitches since tens of thousands of migrants housed in shelters on the Mexican side of the border began using it.

Migrants would get up before dawn to go online, hoping to increase their chances of getting a date through the app. Many immigrant advocates said the vast majority fail to secure a place on the virtual waiting list that opens at 6am and offers appointments exactly two weeks later.