SAN YSIDRO– As the U.S. gets closer to ending a pandemic-era immigration rule, there are concerns for the country’s asylum system and it’s capacity to process a possible surge of people.
On Wednesday, dozens of people waiting outside the U.S.-Mexico border for answers and direction on seeking asylum.
“I came with my family. But my family go inside becuase they said they are only processing women and children at the moment. So I’m just here trying to wait my turn,” said one Jamaican national who asked to remain anonymous.
The migrant got separated from his family. He said he has been waiting nine days along the border wall for answers on his aslyum. He’s said he has been living off protein bars and water given to him from border agents.
“It’s very hard,and a lot of lies, a lot of promisies telling us we will be out of this place soon,” the Jamaican national said.
“America needs a serious plan, and has been in need of a plan for decades,” said Angela Kelley, the cheif adviser of policy and partnership at American Immigration Council.
The American Immigration Council, a D.C. based non-profit, argues the current aslyum system is overwhlemed adn underresourced.
The council’s goal is to pass off a blueprint to congress on how to improve processing and protection of migrants, the council said in a way that’s done with integrity and fairness.
“We’ve been stuck in a cycle of short term thinking, where administration after administration is largely focused on impleementing policeies primarily centered on driving those numbers down and not on creating a systembthat both restores order at the border while also upholding our standing as a beacon of hope for oeople around the world,” said Jorge Loweree, the managing director of programs at the American Immigration Council.
“Thankfully it doesn’t require a radical overhaul of us immigrton law to restore our humanitarian protection systems. What’s needed most is a major shift in thinking and policy making,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, the policy director at the American Immigration Council.
The recommendations of the American Immigration Council’s report to the Biden administration and congress include:
- Expand Customs and Border Protection’s capacity to process asylum seekers at ports of entry
- Surge resources to U.S. Border Patrol for humanitarian processing.
- Establish a Center for Migrant Coordination to work with receiving communities.
- Grow federal support for case management alternatives to detention.
- Revamp asylum processing at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- Begin clearing immigration court asylum backlogs.
- Construct noncustodial regional processing centers at the border.
- Execute the termination of Title 42.
- Fund a right to an attorney in immigration court.
- Create a Federal Emergency Management Agency-based Emergency Migration Fund
- Increase legal immigration pathways.
- Build domestic and international refugee and asylum processing capacity in Latin America.
- Bring asylum law into the 21st century. Click here for a link to report.
“The key to these solutions is acknowledging the problem that we are trying to solve. Rebuilding a functional humanitarian system at the border and beyond,” Reichlin-Melnick said.
“I have family and I need a job to better myself and help the others, poverty in Jamaica is real and it’s very hard,” the migrant said.
