U.S. Government announces new immigration policies

Havana, Jan 5 (RHC) According to a White House press release, the U.S. government announced Wednesday new measures in its immigration policy for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Cubadebate echoed press reports that the United States will allow the entry each month of up to 30,000 migrants from these four nations, but will tighten the restrictions already applied with the COVID-19 pandemic, for those who try to cross the border with Mexico without the necessary documentation.

According to the press release, the decision will expand the legal channels for an orderly migration and will have new consequences for those who do not use them.

The information states that the migrant quota will be limited to those who have a financial sponsor in the U.S. and pass a security investigation, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. for two years.

Those who attempt to enter illegally will either be removed under the health rule known as Title 42, set to take effect in March 2020, with law enforcement intervention and in coordination with Mexico, or will be subject to a fast-track deportation process known as expedited removal, it added.

A simplified legal pathway has been proven to reduce irregular migration and facilitate safe and orderly migration, an official from Joseph Biden's administration told reporters.

The text explained that more than two million people were arrested trying to cross the border in the last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, a 24 percent increase over the previous year.

In December, the daily average of apprehensions at the land border was between 700 to 1,000, without including migrants from Cuba and Haiti trying to reach U.S. territory by sea.

According to the report, the total number of detentions, about 500,000 were Venezuelan, Cuban, and Nicaraguan nationals.