Immigration Policy on the Test... Biden "I Will Visit the Border Area"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he will visit the Mexico border region to assess the situation amid a surge in unaccompanied minor immigrants crossing the border.

On the 21st (local time), after spending the weekend at Camp David in Maryland, President Biden returned to the White House and said, "I will visit the border region someday," adding, "I am well aware of what is happening at local facilities, so I will not rush the visit."

When asked by reporters if there is a way to persuade immigrants not to cross the border, he said, "We are trying to enable them to apply for asylum in their home countries instead of crossing the border."

The Biden administration, which has advocated a compassionate immigration policy, introduced an immigration reform bill that opens the path for unaccompanied minor immigrants to obtain citizenship instead of deportation, leading to a sharp increase in minors attempting to enter the country alone.

According to NBC News, as of the 20th, more than 5,049 minor immigrants are detained in border facilities. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the influx of immigrants at the southern U.S. border has surged to the highest level in 20 years. Due to the continuous flow of immigrants, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention facilities have already exceeded their capacity.

Currently, the U.S. sends adult immigrants attempting to enter the country back to their home countries, but unaccompanied minors are kept in detention facilities instead of being deported.

The Republican Party strongly criticizes the surge in unaccompanied minor immigrants, blaming President Biden's lack of preparation for causing the crisis. They argue that although the Biden administration has worked on immigration legislation to address long-term issues, there was no on-site plan to manage the immediate surge, resulting in confusion due to inadequate preparation.

To resolve the situation, DHS is relocating unaccompanied minor immigrants to Health and Human Services protective facilities and preparing shelters where they can stay. Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS Secretary, emphasized on CNN's 'State of the Union,' "The Trump administration dismantled a safe and orderly immigration system, and the Biden administration is rebuilding it," adding, "They are vulnerable children, and we will end the previous administration's practice of deporting them."

The recent surge in immigration is analyzed to be due to a combination of factors, including natural disasters in Central and South America, economic recession following the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased violence in the Central American region.

Meanwhile, as the number of Central American immigrants heading to the U.S. increases, Mexico, the gateway to the U.S., has also stepped up immigration crackdowns. On the 20th, Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) announced that it arrested 95 illegal Central American immigrants who entered illegally by air in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, in northern Mexico. Most were from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, including eight unaccompanied minors.

Earlier, on the 18th, 329 Guatemalan and Honduran immigrants packed in three cargo trucks were caught near the southern border with Guatemala and handed over to immigration authorities. Between January 25 and February 16, 1,200 Central American illegal immigrants were caught during train crackdowns in six central and southern Mexican states. A former INM official said that although there are no comparative figures, the recent frequency and scale of immigration crackdowns are unprecedented.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.