At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire set in protest over their likely deportation broke out at an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began Monday night when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be sent back to their home countries. He said that while not all of the victims have been identified, the majority appeared to be from Central America and Venezuela.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had not had access to drinking water all day.
The wrapped bodies of migrants lie outside a detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border after the deadly fire.
(Associated Press)
The fire at the National Institute of Migration facility was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico.
Authorities spent the night pulling victims from the still-smoldering building and lining up their bodies — wrapped in shiny metallic sheets — on the ground.
In recent months, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of new Biden administration policies that vastly limit people’s ability to seek asylum at the border.
Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing migrants hoping to cross into the United States have been overflowing.
In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted from them, stolen their money and destroyed their documents.
The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral, and another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”
Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities. The migrants said they had heard a rumor that U.S. officials would let them cross.
Migrants, many of whom make dangerous journeys up through Latin America, have waited for months in Mexico border cities for a chance to seek protection in the U.S. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health policy called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.
With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.
Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes. Citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba can also apply for lawful entry to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and as long as they do not cross the Panama, Mexico or U.S. borders without authorization.
Federal officials say the measures offset record arrivals of migrants at the southern border, pointing to a 95% drop in encounters with people from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba between ports of entry.
Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Leila Miller and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
