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Trump administration takes steps to close border to migrants, citing coronavirus
Never let a crisis go to waste, right, Dems? [SD Union Trib] The Trump administration is taking steps to close the southern border to certain migrants, citing the rapid spread of the coronavirus. U.S. immigration authorities could soon begin immediately removing migrants who enter the U.S. between official ports of entry and turning them back to Mexico, saying it will help stanch the expansion of the pandemic, officials told The Times. The administration has yet to formally announce the proposal, first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday night, but it is hammering out final details. Earlier Tuesday, administration officials began laying the groundwork for the shift. Under the new policy, Border Patrol agents who apprehend Mexican adults attempting to cross the border between ports of entry will return them to Mexico at a nearby port of entry instead of detaining them, according to Brandon Judd, president of the union that represents 15,000 agents, the National Border Patrol Council. Agents will have to check migrants' information, including criminal records, in the field. Equipment to help them perform those checks was already being distributed Tuesday, Judd said. Judd, who is close to the Trump administration, added that the new policy could take effect as soon as Tuesday night. "This will greatly limit the potential for spread of the coronavirus," he said. "The administration was looking at ways to minimize exposure." The administration also began recalling asylum officers and other employees of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ‐ the arm of the Homeland Security Department that administers the legal immigration system ‐ from detention facilities and postings across the country on Tuesday. Posted by: Frank G 2020-03-18 |
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