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US extends heightened border enforcement during coronavirus US extends heightened border enforcement during coronavirus
(32 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is indefinitely extending a policy of strict border enforcement because of the COVID-19 outbreak. WASHINGTON — A Trump administration policy of quickly expelling most migrants stopped along the border because of the COVID-19 pandemic was indefinitely extended Tuesday, with a top U.S. health official arguing that what had been a short-term order was still needed to protect the country from the virus.
An order signed by Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it should remain because of public health conditions in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The order issued by Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, authorizes Customs and Border Protection to immediately remove migrants, including people seeking asylum, as a way to prevent the potential spread of the virus while in custody.
The order enables U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to immediately expel anyone stopped trying to enter the country without authorization, including people seeking asylum. President Donald Trump issued the initial 30-day order in March, and it was extended for another month in April. The new version notably has no fixed end date, though it says the CDC will review public health data every 30 days to ensure it is still necessary.
The CDC will review health conditions every 30 days to determine if the policy should remain in effect. Administration officials have defended the policy as critical to helping prevent the spread of the virus amid criticism from human rights advocates who say the U.S. is using public health as a pretext to deny people their right to seek asylum and enact immigration policies aimed at appealing to some of the president’s supporters in an election year.
The previous two versions had a 30-day limit at the outset. The latest extension was due to expire Wednesday. “Trump’s goal is not to protect our health, it’s to sow division and advance his political agenda,” said Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Department of Homeland Security officials say the COVID-19 pandemic makes it too dangerous to hold people in their detention facilities. CBP is now expelling most captured migrants in about two hours, instead of the days or weeks it took previously. Under the policy, CBP has been sending Mexican and Central American migrants they encounter along the southwestern border back to Mexico in about two hours. It is turning people from other countries over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for rapid repatriation, turning people away who might have remained in the country for months, or even years, to pursue asylum claims.
Immigrant advocates say it deprives people of the legal right to seek asylum under international law. The U.S. is also quickly expelling migrants encountered along the northern border with Canada, though there are far fewer than along the southwest.
Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said in announcing the extension that the order has been “one of the most critical tools the department has used to prevent the further spread of the virus and to protect the American people, DHS frontline officers, and those in their care and custody from COVID-19.” Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said in announcing the extension that the restrictions were one of the most critical tools his department has to “prevent the further spread of the virus and to protect the American people, DHS front-line officers, and those in their care and custody from COVID-19.”
The previous order was due to expire Wednesday. Redfield said the new one would remain in effect until “the danger of further introduction of COVID-19 into the United States has ceased to be a serious danger to the public health.” He also noted that vaccines and treatment for the virus were still months away and that cases were increasing in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Canada, Mexico and the U.S. shut their borders by mutual agreement to nonessential traffic in March to help control the spread of the virus.
Trump followed that up in April with an executive order that halted immigration to the U.S. for 60 days in an effort to limit competition for jobs amid the economic collapse from the outbreak.
The president has long advocated restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and has raised concerns for years about foreigners competing with American citizens for jobs. But he denied he was using the virus to make good on a long-standing campaign promise during an election year.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.