He said 8,000 migrants went back to Mexico voluntarily and some 12,000 migrants will be heard by a judge. Thousands of migrants are also being flown back to Haiti by the State Department and the Haitian government. Many migrants are being expelled under the CDC’s Title 42.
Mayorkas said this is a health policy, not an immigration policy. “And it is important to note that Title 42 is applicable and has been applicable to all irregular migration during this pandemic,” Mayorkas explained. “It is not specific to Haitian nationals, or the current situation.”
The secretary also reacted to the pictures of agents on horses. He called them disturbing images, and he said there is much work to do, including a full investigation into the incident.
Mayorkas said, “The images, horrified us, in terms of what they suggest, and what they conjure up in terms of not only our nation’s history, but unfortunately the fact that that page of history has not been turned entirely. And that means that there is much work to do, and we are very focused on doing it.”
And Secretary Mayorkas clarified the definition of “credible fear” the first step in any asylum case. He said, “The first step in an asylum process is a claim of credible fear. Economic need, flight from generalized violence does not qualify as credible fear, but rather credible fears credible fear of persecution by reason of one’s membership in a particular social group.”
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