(CNN) – US President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he will expand a program to accept up to 30,000 immigrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, along with a plan to expel immigrants from those countries that evade the laws.
The announcement comes at a time when his government is facing a wave of migrants at the southern border.
In a speech from the White House, Biden also revealed plans to visit the US southern border on Sunday, during which he will stop in El Paso, Texas, to meet with local officials and address border security issues. His first stop will be on the frontier as president.
For his part, Biden called on Congress again to pass new immigration laws, considering that its powers in dealing with the worsening crisis are limited. He said partisan issues about borders and immigration policy cloud discussions about how to handle immigration and border crossings.
“It’s important to step back and see the big picture,” Biden said, referring to immigrants’ desire to pursue their own version of the American dream.
El Paso caters to the increase in the number of immigrants.
The ads and the border visit represent an increase in presidential interest in an issue that has become more and more a political responsibility for Biden. He has been relentlessly criticized by Republicans and even some Democrats in the border district for failing to address record levels of transit in the last state.
“If the most extreme Republicans continue their demagoguery on this issue and reject the solutions offered, I have only one option…to do everything I can on my own to try to change the atmosphere,” he said.
Biden also said the process he just introduced is “orderly, safe, humane, and working.”
The president, in turn, admitted that the steps he was taking were not enough to remedy the problem, but he framed them as part of an effort to use his executive powers to manage the growing crisis.
“These measures alone that I am announcing today will not fix the entire immigration system, but they can go a long way to help us better manage the difficult challenge,” he said.
The announcements come ahead of Biden’s first visit as president to Mexico, where he will discuss immigration issues with that country’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The Biden administration is counting on Mexico and other countries in the Western Hemisphere to provide temporary protection to immigrants who have fled their home countries.
“We all have to realize that as long as America is the land of freedom and opportunity, people are going to try to come here,” Biden said. “And that’s what many of our ancestors did. So it’s not surprising that it’s happening again today. We can’t stop people from making the trip, but we can ask them to come here in an organized way.”
On Sunday in Texas, Biden will hit the epicenter of the problem. El Paso started seeing record levels of immigrant arrivals a few weeks agowhen concern about the scheduled end to the Trump-era pandemic public health rule known as Title 42 led to thousands of immigrants turning themselves in to border authorities or crossing the border illegally in a very short period of time.
Title 42 allows immigration authorities to quickly remove some immigrants to Mexico. The policy was due to be lifted last month, but a Supreme Court ruling has kept the rule in place while the legal battle continues in the courts.
Biden said he wants to wait until he knows the outcome of Title 42 legal machinations before traveling to the border, but accused Republicans of playing political games. “They didn’t take it seriously at all,” he said.
Statements made by Biden last Thursday reflect that his government is preparing for the end of Title 42, along with implementing a series of programs to manage the wave of immigrants that coincided with the expected end of the rule.
A US Border Patrol agent checks the passports of migrants after they crossed the border into Mexico on May 18, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona.
The government will now accept up to 30,000 immigrants per month from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela under a humanitarian parole program targeting those nationalities. Those who do not come to the United States under this program may be deported to Mexico under Title 42, which remains in effect after last month’s Supreme Court order.
Immigrants from those countries who wish to come to the United States will first need to apply from their home countries, including through an app on their phone, before they travel. They must have a US sponsor and, if approved, can travel by air.
Government officials previously promoted Venezuela’s parole program after it was implemented late last year, blaming politics for the decline in Venezuelan border crossings. For months, officials considered expanding the program to other nationalities, eventually culminating in the announcement on Thursday.
Officials said the ads are intended to send a message to immigrants that they must apply to enter the United States before leaving their home countries, and that circumventing the process will result in their removal.
“My message is: If you’re trying to get out of Cuba or Nicaragua or Haiti, or planning to start a trip to the United States, don’t do it, and don’t just show up at the border,” Biden said. . “Stay where you are and apply legally. Starting today, if you do not apply through due process, you will not be eligible for this new parole program.”
In addition, Biden announced new humanitarian aid for Mexico and Central America.
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