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U.S. NEWS Saturday 7 december 2019

Asylum-seekers who crossed in Arizona returned to Mexico

ASTRID GALVAN before they're even given waiting in tent camps. She
Associated Press a chance to make an asy- added that using cars to
PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. lum claim. Migrants forced reach the port of entry "will
government said Friday it to wait in Mexico are often not allow asylum-seekers
had sent nine Venezuelans targeted for extortion, kid- automatic entrance into
— including two families — napping and robberies. the United States."
back to Mexico after they Customs and Border Pro- An estimated 4.6 million
tried to make an asylum tection says asylum-seekers Venezuelans have fled the
claim by driving up to a who drive or run up to offi- crisis-torn country, where
customs officer instead of cers pose safety risks. food and medicine ex-
lingering south of the bor- "It is disrespectful to those tremely scarce.
der on a list waiting to be who have waited in line to The policy under which the
called up under a Trump be seen, and to the officers Venezuelans who crossed
administration policy tar- working diligently to pro- on Wednesday were re-
geting asylum-seekers. cess everyone in a safe and turned to Mexico is widely
That practice — and that secure manner, to attempt known as "Remain in Mexi- This June 1, 2009, file photo, shows vehicles waiting to enter the
of other desperate asy- skipping to the front of the co." It forces asylum-seekers U.S. through The Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in downtown
lum-seekers who have run line this way," spokeswom- to wait south of the border Nogales, Ariz.
down vehicle lanes at an an Meredith Mingledorff while the U.S. immigration Associated Press
Arizona port of entry in or- said in an email. cases are heard.
der to reach the U.S. — se- Mingledorff said the Ven- An estimated 55,000 asy- to Juarez. The government violence against asylum-
verely slowed down traffic ezuelans arrived in a car lum-seekers have been re- won't say how many peo- seekers returned to Mexico
over the holiday weekend at an Arizona port of entry turned to Mexico since the ple have been taken from including rape, kidnapping
after Customs and Border in a group of three families policy, which is being chal- Arizona to El Paso. and torture. Human Rights
Protection sealed off sev- and two single adults on lenged in federal court, Migrants forced to wait in First said that was a steep
eral lanes of traffic. Wednesday. was implemented in Feb- Mexico are often met with increase over October,
Advocates say the asylum- They were then bused ruary in some parts of the the same violence and cor- when the group had iden-
seekers forced wait on a roughly 340 miles (547 kilo- border. It was expanded ruption they fled. tified 343 attacks, and not-
list under a Trump policy meters) to El Paso, Texas, to Arizona last week, when A report by the Human ed the latest figure is surely
known as metering are des- and returned to Ciudad agents in the Tucson Sec- Rights First released this an under-count because
perate and afraid of wait- Juarez, where thousands tor began busing migrants week documented at most crime victims don't
ing in Mexico for months of other asylum-seekers are to El Paso to be returned least 636 public reports of report.q