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Recent Articles from Elliot Spagat Associated Press
After lull, asylum-seekers adapt to US immigration changes, overwhelm agents
A group of migrants from China surrendered to a Border Patrol agent in remote Southern California as gusts of wind drowned the hum of high-voltage power lines, joining others from Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in a desert campsite with shelters made from tree branches. Their arrival Wednesday was another sign that agents have become overwhelmed in recent days by asylum-seekers on parts o[...]
Biden administration guaranteed attorney access for migrant screenings, most don’t have it
As the Biden administration prepared to launch speedy asylum screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring, authorities pledged a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy: Migrants would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.
Death of 8-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody highlights challenges providing medical care
The recent deaths of an 8-year-old Panamanian girl and 17-year-old boy from Honduras who were under U.S. government supervision have again raised questions about how prepared authorities are to handle medical emergencies suffered by migrants arriving in the U.S., especially as agencies struggle with massive overcrowding at facilities along the southern border.
Fewer Venezuelan arrivals lead to drop in illegal entries to US after pandemic asylum limits
A 98% drop in Venezuelans arriving at the U.S. southern border has helped lead to a steep decline in migrants crossing illegally from Mexico since pandemic-related asylum limits expired last week, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Border crossings off from last week’s highs as US pins hopes for order on mobile app
Pandemic-era limits on asylum known as Title 42 have been rarely discussed among many of tens of thousands of migrants massed on Mexico's border with the United States. Their eyes were — and are — fixed instead on a new U.S. government mobile app that grants 1,000 people daily an appointment to cross the border and seek asylum while living in the U.S.
US readies second attempt at speedy border asylum screenings
President Joe Biden scrapped expedited asylum screenings during his first month in office as part of a gutting of Trump administration border polices that included building a wall with Mexico. Now he's preparing his own version.
Plunge in border crossings could blunt GOP attack on Biden
A sharp drop in illegal border crossings since December could blunt a Republican point of attack against President Joe Biden as the Democratic leader moves to reshape a broken asylum system that has dogged him and his predecessors.
US launches online system to seek asylum on Mexican border
The Biden administration on Thursday launched an online appointment system as the only way for migrants to get exceptions from pandemic-era limits on asylum — the U.S. government's latest major step in eight days to overhaul border enforcement.
How will asylum work after Title 42 ends? No one knows yet
The Biden administration has been conspicuously silent about how migrants should enter the United States when Trump-era asylum limits end, fueling rumors, confusion and doubts about the government's readiness despite more than two years to prepare.
Judge orders halt to Trump-era asylum restrictions at border
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Biden administration to lift Trump-era asylum restrictions that have been a cornerstone of border enforcement since the beginning of Covid.
Cubans, Nicaraguans drive illegal border crossings higher
U.S. authorities stopped migrants more than 230,000 times on the Mexican border in October, the third-highest month of Joe Biden's presidency amid growing numbers from Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia and other countries.
‘Tale of two borders’: Mexicans not seen at busy crossings
As hundreds of migrants line up along an Arizona border wall around 4 a.m., agents try to separate them into groups by nationality.
