New U.S. immigration rules, who stands and who is cast out?

The changes come at the conclusion of the limits related to the coronarys, which enabled authorities to refuse asylum demands for three years. Limitations originated in a 1944 law that allows for curbing immigration in the name of public health protection. They were decided by the administration of former President Donald Trump in March 2020. Authorities enjoyed the right to reverse immigrants to the US-Mexian border, under the reasoning of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Before these restrictions were imposed, migrants could pass illegally, seek asylum, and were allowed to enter American territory. They were often released pending examination of their case.

Restriction related to pandemic gave officials authority to deny immigrants the right to seek asylum, which over three years has occurred more than 2.8 million times. But the executive order expelled families and children who traveled alone.

Despite restrictions on power, immigrants continued to enter American territory.

After assuming his post President Joe Biden kept restrictions on pandemics in force, but then on 2022, he tried to remove them. Republicans put the administration on trial, arguing that restrictions were needed for border security. The courts decided in favor of carrying out this executive order in force. In January 2023, President Beden's administration announced that it was ending its national emergency in terms of pandemic, which also gave way to lifting restrictions on the border.

New Rules

Limitations regarding the pandemic expired on Thursday 11 May. But the administration has enacted a new set of rules to crack down on illegal border crossings. The administration says it is trying to stop smugglers as well as dangerous and often deadly trips for immigrants.

The consequences are expected to be severe. Immigrants crossing the border illegally will not be allowed to enter American territory for five years and may face prosecution if they try to do so.

According to American and international law, anyone entering the United States has the right to seek asylum. Their cases are considered to determine if there is reliable evidence that they risk becoming victims of persecution in their country. The case then passes to the immigration court, to determine whether they can stay in the United States, a process that could last years. Consideration usually takes place as immigrants are allowed to remain free within American territory.

Thanks to the new rules the Biden administration is already taking away anyone seeking asylum, who has not initially sought protection in a country it has passed, before reaching American territory, or who has not originally applied on the internet. This is a version of a decision taken by Mr. Trump's administration, but that was brought down by the courts. A few minutes before the entry into force of the new rule of the Biden Administration, groups that protect immigrants' rights filed a lawsuit with the intention of blocking it.

The indictment was filed at the federal court in San Francisco by the Centre for Gender Studies and Refugees, as well as other groups. The latter claim that the Beden administration reinforced the policy proposed by the Trump administration, the same policy that has collapsed with the court ruling as they say. But the Biden administration says its new rule is completely different from that of the previous administration.

Who's allowed into the United States?

American authorities have said they will accept as many as 30,000 people a month -- from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba -- as long as they arrive on the airway, have a guarantee for them who pay for their housing and financial aspects, and after initially applied online. The government will also allow up to 100,000 people from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, who have family members in the United States who must also have applied initially online. Otherwise, officials will deport them, including 30,000 people a month, who have come from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba. Their return will be to land through Mexico.

Another category of immigrants to be allowed are those who will apply through “CBP One”, an app of the Terran Operations Office, a federal law enforcement agency responsible for managing customs operations. At present, only 740 people per day can use the app, a number that is increasing to 1,000 a day.

What happens to immigrant families?

Families crossing the border on illegal roads will be forced to stay locked up inside, according to schedules set by authorities. The head of the family will be forced to wear a monitoring bracelet, tied to the ankle. Migration officials must determine within 30 days whether a family can stay in the United States or be deported. But the process usually lasts for years.

The Beden administration first reviewed the possibility of families of immigrants staying in custody until the end of a preliminary review of their case, but instead chose that they stay closed from 11am to 5am. The practice will soon begin to apply in Baltimore, Chicago, Newark, New Jersey and Washington, according to an American official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Families that will not be submitted for interviews related to their demand for asylum will be deported.

Overcrowding of Border Centers

Border Patrol stations have capacity only for temporary housing of immigrants, not for meeting the volume of people who come daily. Some of them are already crowded. As a result, customs agents began to free immigrants from distribution into American territory after being instructed to report to an immigration office within 60 days, otherwise being deported. The agents were instructed to free immigrants in every area, where the objects of their maintenance were over 12.5% of capacity, or when the average time of an immigrant's stay in custody had exceeded 60 hours. Similarly, they were told to start releasing immigrants, if 7,000 immigrants were banned in one day across the border. This thing that's already happened. On Tuesday alone, the number of banned immigrants reached about 10,000 people. This could create problems for administration officials Beden, who are trying to prevent immigrants from entering American territory.

Florida filed an indictment claiming that the release of immigrants violates an earlier court ruling. Late Thursday, a federal judge supported this stance and temporarily halted the administration's plan to release immigrants. The Customs and Border Protection Agency said in a statement it would comply with the court's order, but said the <x0vedience is harmful and could bring about a dangerous overcrowding for this centre, while also reducing the authorities' ability to elaborate and effectively dismiss immigrants”.

Migration Centers

American officials plan to open 100 regional migration centres throughout the Western hemisphere, where people can seek asylum in other countries, as in Canada and Spain. The center of this nature is expected to have in Colombia and Guatemala, but it is not clear where other centers will be opened or when their operation will begin. / VOA