US Expels Thousands of Asylum Seekers to Mexico Over Virus Fears
2020-04-14
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1The administration of United States President Donald Trump is using a public health law to limit the number of people who can seek asylum in the U.S.
2People seeking safety in the U.S. from Mexico are quickly returned to Mexico without the chance to ask for asylum.
3U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that nearly 10,000 Mexicans and Central Americans have been expelled to Mexico since the rules took effect on March 21.
4Mark Morgan is the agency's acting leader.
5He said the changes were "not about immigration."
6Morgan said there was a "public health crisis" from the coronavirus pandemic.
7He added that there is a "national emergency declared by this president to protect the health and safety of every American in this country."
8Mexico is providing important support.
9It has agreed to take migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
10More than 50 percent of all people arrested at the U.S. border last year were from those countries.
11The Trump administration has not released a lot of information about the rules.
12They have not been challenged in court.
13The change got little attention when it was released to the public on March 20.
14That was the same day Trump announced he was closing the southern border to unnecessary travel.
15The administration used a law permitting the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ban foreigners if their entry would create "a serious danger" related to the spread of disease.
16CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield banned foreigners for 30 days.
17He said he may extend the ban.
18"The administration is able to do what they always wanted to do. I don't see this slowing down," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.
19He is with the American Immigration Council, which has criticized the Trump administration.
20Mexico said it will reject children who are alone and other vulnerable people.
21Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez is Mexico's consul general in San Diego.
22He said that includes people who are over 65, pregnant or sick.
23A congressional assistant said the U.S. also is returning Central American children who travel with grandparents, brothers and sisters or other relatives.
24The assistant received information from Customs and Border Protection officials and asked not to be identified because the information was not supposed to be made public.
25Until recently, children without their parents were immediately put on the path to asylum, the Associated Press says.
26Redfield wrote that the health danger of holding migrants at detention centers is the reason for the order.
27Morgan said some cases for asylum would be considered.
28ProPublica is an independent organization of reporters.
29It has a Border Patrol document that explains when asylum should be considered.
30For example, when an agent decides a migrant's fears of being tortured are "reasonably believable," the migrant can ask for asylum under the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
31It is a lower level of asylum that is more difficult to receive.
32Under the rules, agents take migrants to the nearest border crossing in ways that reduce the risk of exposure to the virus.
33Those not sent to Mexico are flown to their home countries.
34CBP said it is currently holding fewer than 100 people.
35Last year, the agency was holding more than 19,000 as a wave of people tried to cross the border.
36During the first 11 days of the new rules, 6,375 people were expelled at the Mexican border and 20 at the Canadian border.
37Ten Senate Democrats sent a letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf.
38He supervises border agencies.
39They wrote, "A public health crisis does not give the Executive Branch a free pass to violate constitutional rights, nor does it give the Executive Branch permission to operate outside of the law."
40I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The administration of United States President Donald Trump is using a public health law to limit the number of people who can seek asylum in the U.S. People seeking safety in the U.S. from Mexico are quickly returned to Mexico without the chance to ask for asylum. 2U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that nearly 10,000 Mexicans and Central Americans have been expelled to Mexico since the rules took effect on March 21. Mark Morgan is the agency's acting leader. He said the changes were "not about immigration." 3Morgan said there was a "public health crisis" from the coronavirus pandemic. He added that there is a "national emergency declared by this president to protect the health and safety of every American in this country." 4Mexico is providing important support. It has agreed to take migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. More than 50 percent of all people arrested at the U.S. border last year were from those countries. 5The Trump administration has not released a lot of information about the rules. They have not been challenged in court. The change got little attention when it was released to the public on March 20. That was the same day Trump announced he was closing the southern border to unnecessary travel. 6The administration used a law permitting the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ban foreigners if their entry would create "a serious danger" related to the spread of disease. CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield banned foreigners for 30 days. He said he may extend the ban. 7"The administration is able to do what they always wanted to do. I don't see this slowing down," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. He is with the American Immigration Council, which has criticized the Trump administration. 8Mexico said it will reject children who are alone and other vulnerable people. Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez is Mexico's consul general in San Diego. He said that includes people who are over 65, pregnant or sick. 9A congressional assistant said the U.S. also is returning Central American children who travel with grandparents, brothers and sisters or other relatives. The assistant received information from Customs and Border Protection officials and asked not to be identified because the information was not supposed to be made public. Until recently, children without their parents were immediately put on the path to asylum, the Associated Press says. 10Redfield wrote that the health danger of holding migrants at detention centers is the reason for the order. 11Morgan said some cases for asylum would be considered. 12ProPublica is an independent organization of reporters. It has a Border Patrol document that explains when asylum should be considered. For example, when an agent decides a migrant's fears of being tortured are "reasonably believable," the migrant can ask for asylum under the U.N. Convention Against Torture. It is a lower level of asylum that is more difficult to receive. 13Under the rules, agents take migrants to the nearest border crossing in ways that reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. Those not sent to Mexico are flown to their home countries. 14CBP said it is currently holding fewer than 100 people. Last year, the agency was holding more than 19,000 as a wave of people tried to cross the border. During the first 11 days of the new rules, 6,375 people were expelled at the Mexican border and 20 at the Canadian border. 15Ten Senate Democrats sent a letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf. He supervises border agencies. 16They wrote, "A public health crisis does not give the Executive Branch a free pass to violate constitutional rights, nor does it give the Executive Branch permission to operate outside of the law." 17I'm Jonathan Evans. 18The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr.was the editor. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21expel- v. to remove someone from a school, club or country 22pandemic- n. an illness that spreads to other countries 23challenge- v. to question the authority of someone or something 24vulnerable- adj. able to be hurt 25consul - n. an official who works with visas