The city of El Paso, on the US-Mexico border, has just under 700,000 residents. And, in front of it, on the other side of the border, there are 35,000 undocumented immigrants waiting for Thursday of next week to arrive to cross to the other side. That day, the extraordinary measures for the protection of the United States against Covid-19 expire, and with them the so-called Article 42, which makes Washington, citing health reasons, almost immediately expel undocumented immigrants who enter the country.

Article 42 has allowed the US to expel two million people since it entered into force in 2020. Many of them planned to request asylum. But the health regulation has caused them to be expelled immediately. With this norm, also, the US Government has reached an agreement with that of Mexico so that the latter country accepts Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country in its territory.

The end of the regulation will, by some estimates, cause the number of people trying to enter the country to double. Others believe that the rise will actually be several times higher. The Government of Joe Biden has ordered the dispatch of 1,500 soldiers to the border to try to contain the human wave. It will also exacerbate tensions between the different states, and within the Democratic party. States are going to clash because some, like Arizona and Texas, are sending immigrants to “sanctuary” cities – that is, that give asylum to illegal immigrants like Washington, Chicago and New York. In turn, the left wing of the Democratic Party demands that the Government make the entry of immigrants more flexible.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project