The US asks to avoid the transit of migrants to the border – El Financiero

WASHINGTON, DC.- The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, pointed out that the administration of President Joe Biden will seek that the countries that serve as transit for migrants, such as Mexico, take actions to prevent the flow of migrants towards the border with the United States. , on the occasion of the end of the controversial Title 42, as of May 23.

The Biden administration announced on Friday, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the end of the application of Title 42, considering that it was unnecessary due to current public health conditions and the availability of vaccines. and treatments against COVID-19.

Although the decision set off a crossfire between Democrats and Republicans, Blinken defended the policy change, although he made it clear that the ultimate goal is to change the conditions that force people to migrate. “In the very short term, my priority is that transit countries in particular take steps to ensure that people who may or may want to come to the United States through their countries are not able to do so,” Bliken said in an interview with the CNN network.

Blinken did not explicitly mention Mexico, but the majority of migrants detained at the southwestern border of the United States arrive from Mexican territory. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documented a record 1.7 million “encounters” of migrants on the US-Mexico border in fiscal year 2021, an increase of 400 percent from 2020.

Although the end of Title 42 was one of the main demands of the progressive sectors of the Democratic Party, both the moderate Democrats, especially those with difficult re-election candidates in November, and the Republicans, expressed their rejection of the measure.

“The announcement … is a frightening decision,” said West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. “Title 42 has been an essential tool in combating the spread of COVID-19 and controlling the influx of migrants at our southern border. We are already facing an unprecedented increase in migrants this year, and that will only get worse.”

His Democratic colleague from New Hampshire, Maggie Hassa, agreed. “The premature termination of Title 42 will likely lead to a surge of immigrants that the administration does not appear to be prepared for.”

For his part, Republican Senator Richard Burr (NC) criticized as contradictory that, on the one hand, the Biden administration requests emergency funds to combat the pandemic and, on the other, affirms that current conditions make Title 42 unnecessary.

In contrast, Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, applauded the decision, calling it a “Trump-era relic” that failed to protect public health and instead created “chaos” in the United States. the border with Mexico.

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