Every day, thousands of migrants seek to occupy one of the 1,450 designated locations along the Mexico-United States border. This is the process of waiting for an appointment in the CBP One system to file a political asylum case.
In this sense, Luis Miranda, Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Communications of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), made statements about this appointment system.
As expressed by the official, the system seeks to speed up appointments at eight ports of entry. All this, while seeking to stop dangerous practices; However, due to high demand, this does not guarantee quick appointment.
The truth is that eight weeks appears as an average delay, ie, 60 days. It must also be clarified here that this time can vary significantly.
Therefore, in order to access the system, migrants interested in requesting asylum must be located in central and northern Mexico.
How is the process done?
It is no secret that, today, the supply of appointments does not meet the growing demand. However, DHS has implemented this method as a solution to prevent migrants from crossing the border from defecting to cartels or criminal groups.
At the port of entry, during the interview, Customs and Border Protection officers evaluate each case. But, that doesn’t mean they can enter the United States.
This is why not all immigrants receive the same treatment and some are granted an I-94. The latter, for Cuban purposes, served as a parole; While others receive the dreaded I-220A.
But, although the system demands order and security; The wait and uncertainty it brings has a strong impact on migrants.
We are talking about people who have accepted the process to escape dangerous and precarious situations in their countries of origin.
But, unfortunately, during their wait in Mexico, they don’t even have access to jobs and often don’t have legal status in the region.
Meanwhile, the situation at the United States border continues to be a hot topic among politicians in Washington.
