Migrants to wait in Mexico after claiming asylum
310 views · Published 25 December 2018 · 2:15 · Indexed 29 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(20 Dec 2018) People seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico border will no longer be released in the United States and will instead be forced to wait in Mexico under a policy announced Thursday. The government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office December 1, said migrants will have temporary permission to remain in Mexico on humanitarian grounds after getting a notice to appear in US immigration court and they will be allowed to seek work authorisation. Alejandro Celorio, Legal Advisor for Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a news conference in Mexico City that migrants wanting to file for asylum in the U.S., will be able to wait in Mexico under a humanitarian visa. The measure is an aggressive response to a large and growing number of Central American asylum seekers, many of them families, who are typically released in the United States while their cases slowly wind through clogged immigration courts. It does not apply to children traveling alone or to Mexican asylum seekers. It marks one of the most significant moves by President Donald Trump to reshape the immigration system. The announcement came two days after the U.S. pledged 10.6 billion US dollars in aid for Central America and southern Mexico to make people feel less compelled to leave. In the border city of Tijuana where thousands of migrants are camping while they wait to file for asylum in the US, migrants denounced the latest the decision. U.S. authorities are currently processing only about 60 to 100 asylum claims per day at the San Diego border, and some 3,000 people already in line to make claims. The migrants are facing wait times of months. Asylum seekers who pass an initial screening in the US, about three of four do, typically wait years before their cases are resolved, allowing them to put down roots in the U.S. Administration officials say many are gaming the system and making false claims as a way to stay in the U.S. Only about nine percent are eventually granted asylum. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e2682c070e7baaf666b1d3a3c4710688
