U.S. authorities along the border with Mexico have been ordered to consider exempting Ukrainians from a pandemic-related restriction so that they can enter the country to seek asylum, according to a note from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtained by CBS News.
During a call with reporters on Thursday, DHS Secretary Alexander Mayorkas said the political guide is designed to remind Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents that their power is being applied to exempt certain migrants from Title 42 , an expulsion policy first implemented under the Trump administration. to Ukrainians seeking refuge in the United States.
The note instructs CBP officials at ports of entry to consider exempting migrants with valid Ukrainian passports under Title 42, and instead process them according to the usual immigration procedures, which would allow them to apply for asylum.
“The Department of Homeland Security recognizes that the unjustified Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has created a humanitarian crisis,” the note, which was issued on March 11, said.
Title 42-exempt Ukrainians, states of internal guidance separate from the DHS, can be prosecuted on a case-by-case basis with a one-year grant of humanitarian parole, which allows immigrants to live and work legally in the U.S. temporarily.
The guide for Ukrainians differs from the application of Title 42 on migrants and asylum seekers from other countries. U.S. border officials have used Title 42 to deport migrants more than 1.7 million times since the policy was first enacted in March 2020, government statistics show.
Migrants prosecuted under Title 42, most of whom come from Mexico, Central America, or other Western Hemisphere nations such as Haiti and Brazil, are deported to northern Mexico or their countries of origin without being deported. allow you to apply for asylum in the United States.
The Trump-era restriction, which the Biden administration has said is still needed to curb the spread of coronavirus to border facilities, has also prevented most asylum seekers from seeking protection from official ports of entry, which is legal under U.S. law.
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Mayorkas stressed on Thursday that last week’s guide reaffirmed the authority of border officials to offer Title 42 exemptions to migrants based on humanitarian considerations, which may also include medical conditions.
“This was a political orientation that reminded them of these individualized determinations and their applicability to Ukrainian nationals, as they apply to all others,” Mayorkas said.
But migrant advocates said DHS guidelines for Ukrainians showed unequal and discriminatory treatment of asylum seekers based on their countries of origin, which is prohibited by international refugee law.
“While it is encouraging to see that DHS recognizes that asylum seekers should not be rejected, this has not been the case for people from other countries,” said Kennji Kizuka, associate director of Human Rights First. a defense of the United States. group.
“Where were the exemptions for Haitian asylum seekers who arrived last fall?” Kizuka continued. “Where are these exemptions for Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan asylum seekers for asylum seekers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras?”
Compared to migrants from other countries, relatively few Ukrainians prosecute U.S. officials along the southern border. In February, for example, 272 Ukrainians were taken into U.S. border custody, accounting for about 0.1% of all migrant arrests that month.
But U.S. border agents have prosecuted 1,301 Ukrainians so far this fiscal year, which began in October, 92 percent more than in fiscal year 2021, government figures show.
Earlier this month, a Ukrainian mother and her three minor children who fled the invasion of Russia were initially deported to Tijuana, Mexico, before being released in the United States following a public protest, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.
More than 3.1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded the country in late February, according to the UN refugee agency. The vast majority are now in neighboring countries, including Poland, which currently hosts about 2 million refugees.
Mayorkas reiterated the U.S. assessment that most displaced Ukrainians will be resettled in Europe, but announced that his department had sent refugee officers to the region to review the cases of those hoping to come to the U.S. through the program. refugees, a process that can take years. to complete.
The Biden administration has been under increasing pressure from Democratic allies to end Title 42, which Republican lawmakers strongly support. He also recently suffered two court mishaps in federal court that could force officials to modify and reduce evictions.
If upheld, a decision by a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, will require U.S. border officials next month to examine migrant families traveling with children to make sure they are not deported. where they could be persecuted or tortured. It could also lead to the end of Title 42 for families with children.
Last week, in response to another court ruling this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revoked the authority of border officials to expel unaccompanied children, who have been exempt from Title 42 since November. of 2020.
The agency, which acknowledged the improvement in pandemic conditions, also announced in its order that it will decide before March 30 whether the expulsions of adults and migrant families are still necessary to safeguard public health.
Mayorkas on Thursday’s call refused to share a time period for the completion of title 42 or details on preparations for the potential end of the policy. But he noted that DHS is “operating preparations for different possibilities.”
“The duration (of Title 42) will be determined by the CDC on a public health basis, depending on where we are in the arc of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayorkas said, noting the detection of new variants of coronavirus in other parts of the world. .
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