US: Asylum hearings delayed indefinitely
COVID-19 criteria must be met before resuming
TUCSON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department issued on Friday evening new guidance to resume court hearings for migrants who seek asylum in the United States but who are sent to Mexico to wait.
The criteria, amid the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, is likely to result in longer wait times in Mexico for migrants as both countries continue to see the uncontrolled spread of the new coronavirus.
Hearings were originally scheduled to resume on Monday for asylum seekers sent to Mexico under a policy called the Migrant Protection Protocols, but more informally known as “Remain in Mexico.” Since rolling out the program in January 2019, the U.S. government has sent back more than 60,000 migrants.
The new criteria does away with set dates, and instead relies on a series of conditions that must be met before court hearings resume. Those conditions are almost entirely dependent on states on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border gaining control of COVID-19, something that has eluded all of them so far.
The changes likely mean that migrants already waiting in Mexico will have to continue doing so for an even longer, undetermined amount of time in often precarious conditions.
“Once the criteria are met, the departments will provide public notification at least fifteen calendar days prior to resumption of the hearings with location-specific details,” DHS and DOJ said in a joint announcement.
On Thursday, DHS announced it would also extend travel restrictions along the U.S.-Mexico border until Aug. 20. It also will continue to immediately expel migrants whom border agents apprehend at the border to their countries of origin.
For Migrant Protection Protocols hearings to resume, the U.S. government, in conjunction with the Mexican government, announced three mandatory requirements pertaining to control of the coronavirus pandemic.
First, it said the U.S. border states of
California, Arizona and Texas must be in Stage 3 of their reopening plans. Second, global health advisories for Mexico must be lowered to Level 2. And lastly, all six Mexican border states must be in the “yellow” stage of their stoplight system categories.
Currently, the U.S. border states are seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases and are in early stages of reopening. Only Texas is operating under its Phase 3. But even there, cases are up drastically. On Friday alone, Texas reported more than 10,000 cases.
In Mexico, the six border states also are grappling with rising infections. But the issue there is compounded by a lack of testing and hospitals filled with COVID-19 patients.
None of the six states meets the criteria DHS established.
Masks, social distancing required
Once court hearings resume, DHS said they will adhere to all social distancing guidelines and protocols, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Friday’s announcement detailed some of the steps they will take.
The department said it will develop more detailed plans for each location, and will look into all facets of the program such as intake processing for migrants and transportation to court hearings.
To enforce social-distancing guidelines, DHS said once a certain facility reaches capacity, the remaining migrants “will have their hearings rescheduled for a future date.” But it did not acknowledge the risks of increased exposure to COVID-19 that asylum seekers will have to take to show up at the hearing, only to be turned away and rescheduled for another day.
The department also said it will take the temperatures and require the use of face masks for everyone involved in the court hearing, including migrants, attorneys and DHS staff. Anyone with a fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit will not be allowed in. These requirements will also apply to the courts set up at large tents in the Texas cities of Brownsville and Laredo.
DHS also said it will “regularly” clean and disinfect commonly used areas and that it will avoid holding migrants overnight at Customs and Border Protection facilities.
States far from meeting criteria
Looking at each metric makes it clear how difficult reaching this criteria will be, given the current situation on both sides of the border with growing numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
California is in the early part of Stage 2, according to the state’s road map. But on Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his state would essentially go into lockdown again as it battles an increase in cases. The state reported 366,164 known cases and 7,475 deaths as of Friday morning.
Arizona boasts an unenviable distinction of having the highest infection rates per capita in the U.S. and in the world. The state began reopening in May, but cases spiked so drastically Gov. Doug Ducey rolled back some of the reopening guidelines in late June. The state has 138,523 reported cases and 2,583 deaths as of Friday.
But it’s unclear why DHS included Arizona on the list. The state does not hold any court hearings for migrants under “Remain in Mexico.”
In fact, migrants the U.S. returned to Mexico through Arizona ports of entry are forced to travel to Calexico, California, or to El Paso, Texas, for their hearings.
Texas is the only one of the three states operating under its Phase 3 reopening guidelines. But having bars, restaurants and other businesses open has led to a major increase in infections, forcing Gov. Greg Abbott to mandate the use of face masks statewide on July 2. The state reported 307,572 cases and 3,735 deaths as of Thursday.
In contrast to the U.S., Mexico developed a system to monitor each state’s progress in fighting COVID-19 using a “stoplight for epidemiological risk.” It assigns one of four colors to each state on a weekly basis indicating the type of activity allowed.
Red is the strictest, urging residents to avoid leaving their homes and allows only for essential services to operate. Green is the least restrictive, indicating people can leave their homes and allowing most activity to resume.
This week, all states in Mexico are in either the red or the orange category. At the border with the U.S., only the state of Chihuahua is under the orange category. The remaining five states of Baja California, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas are in the red category.