Migrants are rattled and unsure as deportations begin under new rule halting asylum

(6 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dulzura, California - 5 June 2024
1. Close up of Sergio Franco and his daughter Isabella Franco
2. Various of migrants with Border Patrol agents
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3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sergio Franco, migrant from Ecuador:
"As long as we have sufficient evidence and our stories are true there shouldn't be a problem because this is supposed to be for people that really need asylum and we really need it."
4. Close up of Sergio Franco and his daughter Isabella Franco
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5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sergio Franco, migrant from Ecuador:
"More than anything we come here for the opportunities. In other countries we are not wanted as migrants so they don't allow us to enter like this. At this time the only country that lets migrants in and lets us work is the United States."
6. Mid of Arelis Alonzo Lopez walking to staging area
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7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Arelis Alonzo Lopez, migrant from Guatemala:
"I have been walking for about 8 days.
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Arelis Alonzo Lopez, migrant from Guatemala:
"It was very long, it was very tiring."
9. Various of Arelis Alonzo Lopez walking to Border Patrol vehicle with help from aid worker and Border Patrol agent
10. Border Patrol agent closing van doors
STORYLINE:
A sense of uncertainty prevailed among many migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border after Biden invoked presidential powers to stop asylum processing when arrests for illegal crossings top 2,500 in a day. The measure took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday because that threshold was met.

The first deportations under the new rule occurred Wednesday, according to two senior Homeland Security Department officials who briefed reporters on condition their names not be published. The officials didn't disclose how many were deported and said they expected it would take several days to ramp up.

Sergio Franco, who clutched his baby girl after a nearly two-month journey from Ecuador with his family, walking through the Darien jungle, said he was confident that he would prevail in his plea to find a safe haven in the United States.

“If we have evidence, there shouldn't be a problem,” he said.

As the group was driven away, several Indian men walked up to the dirt patch, which lacks water, lighting and restrooms and has little shade. Located near the South Bay Rod & Gun Club in the tiny town of Dulzura, it is one of several gathering areas that have popped up over the last year in the remote, rural areas near San Diego for migrants to surrender to Border Patrol agents.

Several Guatemalan women arrived later, including Arelis Alonzo Lopez who said she was nearly five months pregnant and walked for two nights. A Border Patrol agent asked how she felt.

“I can't take any more,” she answered.

One day of 2,500 border arrests triggers the halt on asylum until average daily arrests fall below 1,500 for a week straight. The last month crossings were that low was in July 2020, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migrants who express fear for their safety if they’re deported will be screened by U.S. asylum officers but under a higher standard than what’s currently in place. If they pass, they can remain to pursue other forms of humanitarian protection, including those laid out in the U.N. Convention Against Torture.


AP video by Javier Arciga

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