Avellon Williams
MEXICO- As a result of a surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua in September, illegal crossings to the U.S.reached a new record.
It’s been a challenging year for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency’s year-end numbers reflect deteriorating economic and political conditions in some countries, as well as uneven enforcement of Trump-era asylum restrictions.
The number of migrants stopped at the U.S. border with Mexico reached 227,547 in September, the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency. The number was up 11.5% from 204,087 in August and 18.5% from 192,001 in September 2021.
Late on Friday night, figures released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed migrants were stopped 2.38 million times in the fiscal year that ended on September 30. This is up 37% from the year before when migrants were stopped 1.73 million times.
In August, the annual total exceeded 2 million for the first time and was twice as high as it was during Donald Trump’s presidency.
The number of migrants stopped in September from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua was nearly 78,000, compared to about 58,000 from Mexico and three northern Central American countries.
Title 42, a public health rule that suspends asylum rights under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing Covid-19 spread, may be responsible for the remarkable geographic shift.
Currently, the U.S. cannot expel migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, or Nicaragua due to strained diplomatic relations. Thus, they can pursue their immigration cases largely in the U.S.
Since Title 42 authority began in March 2020, it has been used 2.4 million times but has disproportionately affected migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
