By Pierre Philor Saint-Fleur
P-to-P, June 7, 2024 [AlterPresse] — The Department of Homeland Security of the United States of America announces the continuation of deportations of illegal migrants, arrested on the high seas by the American Coast Guard, as well as those intercepted at the southern border of the UNITED STATES.
“The new asylum measures recently taken by the United States government will apply to our maritime borders and our southern border,” warns the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States, Blas Nunez -Neto, during a Zoom press conference on US immigration policy, attended by the online agency AlterPresse.
“We encourage all those who want to enter the United States to use legal channels, made available specifically for Haitian nationals.”
During 2023, the United States Department of Homeland Security expelled or removed more than 750,000 people.
It says it is operating more repatriation flights per week than ever before.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its deep concern after the new asylum measures recently adopted by the American political administration, which impose severe restrictions on the right to seek asylum in the country.
“The new measures will deny access to asylum to many people, who need international protection and who could now find themselves without a viable option to seek safety and even risk being refouled,” criticizes the UNHCR .
“Any person, who claims to have a well-founded fear of being persecuted in their country of origin, must have access to a safe territory and have their claim assessed before being expelled or deported,” recommends the United Nations agency for refugees, which calls on the United States government to respect its international obligations.
UNHCR urges the US government to reconsider the restrictions, which undermine the fundamental right to seek asylum.
“We remain committed to supporting the United States in its broader reform efforts, which include improving the fairness, quality and efficiency of its border management and asylum systems.”
On June 4, 2024, President Joseph Robinette Biden, known as Joe Biden, issued an executive order prohibiting any person illegally crossing the American border from seeking asylum in the United States.
These non-permanent provisions “will be in effect when the southern border is saturated. They will make it easier for immigration agents to expel people who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States,” the White House explained in a statement.
“These actions will be discontinued when the number of migrants crossing the border between ports of entry is low enough for the U.S. system to manage border operations safely and efficiently.”
They also include humanitarian exceptions, similar to those included in the bipartisan border deal announced in the U.S. Senate, including those for unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking.
The US State Department also imposed visa restrictions on more than 250 members of the Nicaraguan government, non-governmental actors, and their immediate family members, due to their role in supporting the Daniel Ortega/Rosario Murillo regime. , which sells transit visas to migrants from Western countries and elsewhere.
He also revoked the visas of charter airline executives for similar actions.
The government of the United States of America has indicated that it has taken steps to impose visa restrictions on charter airline executives who allegedly facilitate irregular migration into the United States.in a warning note dated Monday March 12, 2024.
These measures were decided to respond to the growing trend of charter airlines to offer flights to Nicaragua, mainly designed for irregular migrants, American authorities said.
In November 2023, the US State Department had already announced visa restrictions for owners, managers and/or senior officials of companies offering charter flights in the region, including Haiti, to Nicaraguaintended mainly for irregular migrants.
On Monday October 30, 2023, the de facto government in Haiti decided to suspend all flights to Nicaraguain a context where thousands of Haitians used this Central American country as a transit point to the United States of America.
The new visa restrictions “target the predatory practice of transportation companies of taking advantage of vulnerable migrants and facilitating irregular migration to the United States. No one should take advantage of vulnerable migrants – not smugglers, not private companies, not public officials, not governments” – according to the United States government. [ppsf emb rc apr 07/06/2024 11:20]
