The measure to remove the cases from the file could draw criticism from conservatives, who consider it a kind of amnesty.
Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
Along with proposing the end of the Title 42 policy, which allows the expeditious expulsion of immigrants who arrive at the border, now the Government of Joe Biden sent a memorandum to the prosecutors of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) where he authorizes them to dismiss the cases brought against undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for a long time and do not pose a threat to public safety.
Such a plan could significantly reduce the backlog of asylum and deportation cases, since the Biden administration anticipates a large wave of immigrants crossing the border while easing the collapse of immigration courtswhich accumulate 1,700,000 pending files, which lengthens the wait for immigrants for years.
In the memorandum, according to The New York Times, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service ordered its lawyers to review the cases and try to clarify those considered low priority according to the compliance guidelines that the administration established last year.. The American Immigration Lawyers Association estimates there are at least 700,000 such cases, about 40 percent of the court backlog.
If it moves forward, it would translate into encouraging news for dozens of migrants, who saw their cases completely stopped amid the collapse in the courts, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic, which limited and delayed the proceedings.
It would be a second attempt in the Biden administration, who in November 2021 announced a rule that established certain deportation priorities. The rule directed ICE to focus on the arrest and removal of those with serious criminal histories or pose a threat to public safety and those who have recently crossed the border and have no roots in the country.
The effort to reduce the delay comes when the administration Biden is bracing for what could be the largest surge yet in undocumented immigrants crossing the border.
The increase is expected to coincide with the end of a pandemic-era public health order that gave border officials the authority to quickly remove undocumented immigrants.
It is the latest in a series of efforts by the Biden administration to streamline immigration law enforcement in the absence of action by Congress.
Read more:
Second migrant caravan dissolves in southern Mexico
Three Republican states ask judge to block Biden’s decision to end Title 42 against immigrants
Mexico facing the avalanches of migrants due to the elimination of Title 42
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