Under an emergency order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration has had the authority to expel to Mexico any migrants who show up at the border without a visa. But the government of some Mexican border states have refused to accept families with young children or those who have traveled from countries outside Central America, such as Brazil, Ecuador, India and Venezuela. Human smugglers in recent months have funneled tens of thousands of families to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and to parts of Arizona and California — places where they are aware families will be admitted — because Mexican states like Tamaulipas and Baja California are not taking them back. Details of how expedited removal will be carried out were not immediately available, but it could potentially be applied to certain cohorts of families, depending on their country of origin or the age of the children, or along only certain stretches of the border. The announcement on Monday drew a sharp rebuke from immigrant advocacy groups.

Source: New York Times July 27, 2021 03:33 UTC