U.S. quietly expands asylum limits while preparing to end them
SAN DIEGO — The Biden administration has begun expelling Cubans and Nicaraguans to Mexico under pandemic-related powers to deny migrants a chance to seek asylum, expanding use of the rule even as it publicly says it has been trying to unwind it, officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. struck agreement with Mexico to expel up to 100 Cubans and 20 Nicaraguans a day from three locations: San Diego; El Paso, Texas; and Rio Grande Valley, Texas, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the effort.
The expulsions began April 27 and will end May 22, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been made public. They are carried out under Title 42 authority, which was named for a public health law and used to expel migrants on grounds of preventing spread of COVID-19. Title 42 is due to expire May 23.
The U.S. and Mexico agreed April 26 to a very limited number of expulsions of Cubans and Nicaraguans, according to a high-level Mexican official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. It was prompted by higher numbers of migrants from those two countries coming to the U.S. border.
Mexico also took into account that the U.S. government had started processing visas in Cuba again, the official said. Mexico had already begun processing visas for Cubans.
Another Mexican official, also not authorized to comment publicly, confirmed that up to 100 Cubans and 20 Nicaraguans were being expelled from San Diego under Title 42 under an agreement that runs through May 22.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Until last week, Mexico only agreed to take Guatemalans, Hondurans and El Salvadorans — in addition to Mexicans — under Title 42 authority. Other nationalities are subject to Title 42 but costs, strained diplomatic ties and other considerations often make it difficult to send them back to their home countries.
It’s next to impossible for the U.S. to expel migrants to Cuba or Nicaragua due to poor relations with those governments. That has posed an acute challenge for the Biden administration as more people from those countries seek haven in the United States.
Cubans were stopped by U.S. authorities more than 32,000 times on the Mexican border in March, double the number in February and more than five times October’s count, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Nicaragua eased travel restrictions from Cuba in November, making it easier for Cubans to continue by land to the U.S. border. Most enter the U.S. in or near Yuma, Arizona, and Del Rio, Texas.