Biden offers legal path for 360,000 migrants per year

San Antonio, TX – While the fate of Title 42 remains in limbo, President Joe Biden has announced sweeping measures meant to solve the crisis on the southern border. In an announcement last Thursday, Biden said the US will offer a legal path for up to 360,000 migrants per year. Only nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will be eligible for the program and only if they meet the strict requirements in the administration’s immigration reform plan. Migrants who do not comply with the new procedures will be sent back to Mexico.

Biden made the announcement just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday, his first trip to the southern border as president. The president will then travel to Mexico City for talks with Mexican leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The new rules represent a major change to immigration rules that will stand even if the Supreme Court puts an end to Title 42, a Trump-era public health law that allows U.S. authorities to turn away asylum-seekers.

Migrants instructed to use the CBPOne app

‘My message is this: If you’re trying to leave Cuba, Nicaragua or Haiti … do not, do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there,’ Biden said while acknowledging the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north. 

Under the new rules, migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua must use a dedicated app to apply for asylum. The migrants will have to download an app called ‘CBPOne’ and make an appointment outside the country before showing up at a U.S. port of entry, including airports.

They would then go through a background check, Biden explained, and if their application is approved they would use the same ‘CBPOne’ app and present that at a port of entry.

Under the administration’s plan, up to 30,000 migrants per month would be allowed into the US and they will be granted work authorizations valid for two years.

Migrants can also use the US parole program to have someone inside the country sponsor them. If you have a family member or friend who is a legal permanent resident or American citizen, contact an experienced San Antonio immigration lawyer to help you with your application.

Too little, too late

Unsurprisingly, politicians on both sides were quick to criticize the president’s plan. On the one hand, many democrats complain Biden is using the same tactics as his predecessor, depriving desperate migrants of a chance to a better life in the US. On the other hand, republicans point out that American taxpayers will have to support those 360,000 migrants allowed into the US each year. And, it won’t do much to solve the problems at the border. The number of people from those four countries trying to cross into the US on foot, by boat, or by swimming is far higher. In November, immigration officials stopped 82,286 coming from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Even if 30,000 are allowed into the country and Mexico takes back another 30,000 as promised, more than 22,000 people will be trapped in a no-man’s land. Nicaragua and Venezuela won’t take back their citizens who have entered the US illegally, so these people cannot be deported. 

At the same time, desperate migrants will risk crossing the border illegally if they know they don’t qualify for asylum. Economic hardship is not a valid reason to obtain asylum in the US. If you want to seek asylum, it’s best to reach out to seasoned immigration lawyers. They can help you prove you are or risk being persecuted in your home country for your religion, political beliefs, or for being a member in a certain organization.

If you’re planning to come to Texas or are already here and want to put your papers in order,  get in touch with a knowledgeable lawyer at the Law Office of J. Joseph Cohen in San Antonio and let them help you find a solution to your problem.   

Contact info:

Law Office of J. Joseph Cohen

206 East Locust Street

San Antonio, TX 78212

Phone: (210) 769-3273