US Border Restrictions May Have Broken International Law, Says UNHCR; Biden Border Crackdown Continues

President Joe Biden's border crackdown is already sending thousands of undocumented migrants back to Mexico. However, the chief of the UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, says that several aspects of these US border restrictions may be breaking international laws.

Filippo Grandi serves as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). His agency recently issued its annual "Global Trends" report for 2023. That report found that the cumulative number of people who have been subjected to forced displacement rose to 120 million last year, which is around 6 million more people.

Grandi recently spoke with the Associated Press in an interview and touched on the various conflicts around the world, including Palestine and Sudan. However, he admitted that the US is facing the "most complex challenge" when it comes to refugees of any country in the developed world.

Despite this, he blasted the Biden administration's plans to enact new restrictions on migrants who are seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border, saying that the Biden border clampdown is a possible violation of international humanitarian law.

However, the UNHCR chief did praise Biden for his plans to resettle some 125,000 refugees in the United States, calling it "a very shining example of US generosity."

With these new US border restrictions, US officials are allowed to turn back migrants once the threshold of 2,500 encounters is met. The migrants would not be given the chance to plead for asylum and would be deported immediately, with a few exceptions, such as unaccompanied minors and people who genuinely look terrified of being sent back to their respective countries. However, they would receive a much stricter screening process than before.

Several rights groups in the United States have already sued the Biden administration over these border restrictions.

US Border Restrictions Under Joe Biden Already Affecting Migrants

Biden's border restrictions have already captured the attention of the UNHCR, as the migrants who have already been deported are facing a massive decision on whether or not to try again.

NPR's Sergio Martinez-Beltran was recently at the US-Mexico border and spoke with several migrants who were deported. Many of them admitted that they were turned back, including a 30-year-old mother and her two young children trying to flee cartel violence in Guerrero state. She told NPR that she plans to go back to Guerrero and admitted she did not know about the new Biden border restrictions.

Joe Biden Might Announce Protections for Certain Undocumented Immigrants Amid Border Restrictions

Meanwhile, President Biden is also expected to announce a new executive action geared towards protecting certain undocumented immigrants living in the United States from deportation.

Sources familiar with Biden's plan have told PBS News that it is expected to protect the undocumented spouses of US citizens from being deported and even allow them to work legally in the country. The decision is expected to give a more "streamlined pathway" for them to become US citizens. No final decision has yet been made on additional executive actions that might be taken.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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