Honduran migrants enter Guatemala after breaking through a Guatemalan border checkpoint on Jan. 16 and continue their journey to the United States.
Thousands of Honduran migrants are making their way to the southern U.S. border with a view to entering the country as soon as Biden takes office. But Biden’s team has a message for them: don’t come yet.
According to NBC 17, a senior member of the Biden transition team warned the latest caravan of Honduran migrants not to come to the U.S. at this time, and if they do, they will not be allowed to enter the country at this time.
The Trump administration has instituted a strict immigration policy, and tens of thousands of migrants have already been stopped at the southern border and told to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases are heard in court. Many have given up and returned south, but thousands are still waiting in harsh conditions in northern Mexico to enter the United States.
President-elect Joe Biden has promised to end Trump’s immigration policies, and those promises could put Biden to a tough test on his first day in office. If potential migrants from Central America think it’s time to head to the U.S., the southern border could soon be overwhelmed until a system is in place to handle the influx.
An estimated 9,000 Honduran migrants are fleeing food-starved areas. About 6,500 Honduran migrants are on their way, Alejandra Mena, a spokeswoman for Guatemala’s migration agency, told Reuters. Thousands of people forced their way through Guatemala’s border crossings last Saturday (Jan. 16) to make their way to the United States.
“The situation at the border is not going to turn overnight,” the Biden transition official said in an exclusive interview with NBC News, adding that migrants trying to cross into the U.S. for asylum in the first few weeks of the new administration need to understand that they cannot enter the country immediately.
The official stressed that those who have been waiting at the border, as well as other vulnerable people, will be the priority for processing and entry.
The official also said the transition team’s proposed agenda for the first day is for undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S., not for those considering coming to the U.S. now.
But the unnamed Biden transition official declined to say when asylum seekers could come to the U.S. and whether they would be detained while awaiting court hearings.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei called on Honduran authorities to control the mass exodus of its residents, saying his government is very disappointed by this violation of national sovereignty and calling on Central American governments to take measures to avoid putting residents at risk during the emergency of the epidemic.
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