White House Planning To Lift Public Health Rule Blocking Migrants At Border
A Trump-era rule put in place during the pandemic allows border agents to turn away adult migrants at the southern border. The New York Times reports that the Biden administration is in the late stages of planning to phase out the measure. Other health and safety issues facing migrants to the U.S. is also in the news.
The New York Times:
Biden Officials Consider Phasing Out Rule That Blocked Migrants During Pandemic
The Biden administration is in the later stages of planning how to phase out a Trump-era public health rule that has allowed border agents to rapidly turn away most migrants who have arrived at the southern border during the pandemic, according to two administration officials. It is possible that in the coming weeks, border officials could start allowing migrant families back into the country, with an eye toward lifting the rule for single adults this summer. The plan, while still not final, is sure to complicate an already thorny issue for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is visiting the border on Friday as Republicans accuse the administration of being slow to address what they describe as an unrelenting surge of migrants trying to enter the country. Lifting the rule will only exacerbate that. (Sullivan and Kanno-Youngs, 6/24)
Reuters:
Nearly 3,300 Migrants Stranded In Mexico Were Kidnapped, Raped Or Assaulted - Report
Nearly 3,300 migrants stranded in Mexico since January due to a U.S. border policy have been kidnapped, raped, trafficked or assaulted, according to a report by a human rights group released on Tuesday. The report, by New York-based Human Rights First, documents cases of migrants and asylum seekers stuck in Mexico since U.S. President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20. The number of cases has jumped in recent weeks from roughly 500 such incidents logged in April to 3,300 by mid-June. (Hesson, 6/22)
CBS News:
Migrant Children Endure 'Despair And Isolation' Inside Tent City In The Texas Desert
The level of distress among migrant boys and girls held by the U.S. government at a tent city in the Texas desert has become so alarming that they are constantly monitored for incidents of self-harm, panic attacks and escape attempts, people who worked at the federal site told CBS News.Some children held at the large tent complex at the Fort Bliss U.S. Army base have required one-on-one supervision 24 hours a day to ensure they don't hurt themselves. Others have refused to eat or spend most of their days sleeping on cots. Workers said they saw migrant girls and boys with cut marks on their wrists and arms. (Montoya-Galvez, 6/22)
KFOX:
Sunland Park Residents Say Not Unusual For Migrants To Ask Them For Refuge
People living in Sunland Park, New Mexico near the border wall say they’ve been receiving knocks on their door from migrants. Migrants who are crossing into the U.S. are seeking refuge in neighborhoods, according to residents who live near the border wall in Sunland Park. “There are times I see them running here,” said Uriel Horta. (Castillo, 6/24)
In other news —
ProPublica:
The U.S. Is Closing A Loophole That Lured Mexicans Over The Border To Donate Blood Plasma For Cash
A federal agency is closing a legal loophole that allowed U.S.-based blood plasma companies to harvest plasma from thousands of Mexicans a day, who were lured by bonus payments and hefty cash rewards, as a 2019 ProPublica and ARD German TV investigation showed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on June 15 that effective immediately, it would no longer permit Mexican citizens to cross into the U.S. on temporary visas to sell their blood plasma. A statement provided to ProPublica and ARD said that donating plasma is now considered “labor for hire,” which is illegal under the visitor visa most border residents use to cross into the United States to make donations. (Lind and Dodt, 6/24)
NBC News:
Asylum-Seekers, Attorneys Decry 'Horrendous' Louisiana ICE Detention Center
During his 46 days at the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, an asylum-seeker who was detained there said he witnessed “horrible conditions” that were “not suitable for humans.” The recently paroled detainee, who did not want to use his name pending his asylum case, spoke on the phone with NBC News and recounted there was little food, a lack of toilets, no hot water and extremely cold temperatures inside the facility. (Sesin, 6/22)
