Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

LATIMES.COM WST THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019A

case against the asylum
seekers, according to the
clearinghouse data.
“If the government in-
tends to carry out the pro-
gram,” O’Connor ruled, “it
must ensure due process is
strictly complied with and
statutory requirements are
strictly adhered to. That has
not been shown in any of
these cases.”

Worse by the day

Nora Muñoz Vega
watched her son kick a soc-
cer ball at Buen Pastor shel-
ter in Juarez. As 9-year-old
Josue David played, his 29-
year-old mother weighed a
difficult decision: Keep wait-
ing in Juarez on their asylum
case or take a bus, spon-
sored by the Mexican gov-
ernment, back to Honduras.
Asylum seekers stuck in
Juarez under Remain in
Mexico have hearings sched-
uled into 2020. But unable to
find work in Mexico without
a permit, and too scared to
venture out, Muñoz Vega
said the few weeks until her
second hearing seemed like
an eternity.
In its May ruling allowing
Remain in Mexico to re-
sume, the 9th Circuit relied
in part on assurances from
the U.S. that Mexico was
providing for the asylum
seekers. Yet none of the mi-
grants to whom The Times
spoke had been able to ob-
tain a work permit: All were
staying in shelters run by
churches or non-govern-
mental organizations, or ho-
tels when shelters filled up.
Through “voluntary re-
turn,” the Mexican govern-
ment, along with the United
Nations, is facilitating the
Trump administration’s ef-
fort to get asylum seekers to
give up on their cases. More
than 2,000 Central Ameri-
cans have taken free rides
back to their home countries
under the U.N. program,
which is funded by the U.S.
government.
Although it’s unclear ex-
actly how many asylum
seekers under Remain in
Mexico have gone home, a
number appear to be grow-
ing tired of waiting and are
crossing the border illegally.
On the viaduct between
Juarez and El Paso, Border
Patrol Agent Mario Es-
calante watched from the
U.S. side as Mexican Na-
tional Guard units patrolled
on theirs.
Escalante was born in El
Paso but said he practically
grew up in Juarez, with fam-
ily on both sides of the bridge
for generations. Grisly mur-
ders had become common-
place in Juarez, he added.
“It’s the culture; you get used
to it.”
But asked whether
Juarez was safe for the asy-
lum seekers U.S. officials
had sent there, Escalante
brushed off the question.
When his radio crackled,
he sped toward a popular
crossing just beyond the in-
ternational bridge. A group
of Central American women
and children cowered in the
shade.
“It’s difficult to watch,”
Escalante said. “The need’s
gotta be pretty great.”
One woman with her son
raised her head. It was
Muñoz Vega, the Honduran
mother.
Across the country, a
number of federal asylum of-
ficers have quit, and a hand-
ful are refusing to implement
Remain in Mexico, half a
dozen asylum officers and
U.S. Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services personnel
told The Times.
They say the Trump ad-
ministration is forcing them
to violate the law in imple-
menting the policy, end-run-
ning standards set by Con-
gress and intentionally
putting vulnerable asylum
seekers in harm’s way. Most
requested anonymity due to
fears of retaliation.
In June, the union repre-
senting federal asylum offi-

cers in the Washington, D.C., area filed a brief in support of the lawsuit against Re- main in Mexico. “Every day, it gets a little bit worse,” said one asylum officer in California who re- fused to screen migrants under the policy. Generally, before Re- main in Mexico, asylum seekers at the border would receive a “credible fear” interview. The asylum officers, many of whom are attor- neys, screen for fear of persecution in the asylum seek- er’s home country based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or being part of a particular social group. Congress set “credible fear” as an intentionally low bar to help ensure the U.S. did not violate the law by returning people to harm. But according to administration guidelines under Remain in Mexico, only asylum seekers who proactively express a fear of returning to Mexico — not their home countries — are referred by CBP officials to asylum officers, and for an entirely new interview process. That process screens them for likelihood of persecution in Mexico. In these interviews, asylum officers also have to use a much higher legal standard. Essentially, instead of proving a 10% likelihood of persecution in their home country, asylum seekers have to prove a 51% likelihood of persecution in Mexi- co. That standard is generally reserved for a full hearing before an immigration judge. In reality, the standard being used under Remain in Mexico is nearly impossible, another asylum officer said: “No one can pass.” According to interviews with asylum seekers and officers, as well as Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics shared with The Times, many asylum seekers under Remain in Mexico are being removed without any interview at all. Against its own guidelines, those sources say, Homeland Security officials also are returning children, people with disabilities and other medical conditions, and pregnant women. Law- makers have demanded an inspector general investi- gation of the alleged viola- tions. The second asylum officer said she recently sound- ed the alarm after seeing a spate of women in late stages of pregnancy being turned back to Mexico. She was told that Customs and Border Protection does not consider a late-stage pregnancy to be a serious medical condition. “They don’t want them to drop any babies on U.S. soil,” the asylum officer said. A third asylum officer said they’re required to con- duct the more complex Remain in Mexico interviews — sometimes lasting more than five hours — with children too young to speak. Four officers described cases of asylum seekers who said they had been kid- napped in Mexico, then beaten and raped. Once their families sent money, the kidnappers released them. But when the victims fled for the border, the asylum officers had to turn them back. Kidnappers are now waiting outside ports of entry for the U.S. returns, officers said. “In 99% of the interviews, they said they faced harm in Mexico, and we sent them back,” the third asylum officer said. One asylum officer said she routinely woke up in a sweat from nightmares. “How long can I do this and live with myself?” she said. “I think about these people all the time ... the ones that I sent back. I hope they’re alive.”

Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Source: Department of Homeland Security Thomas Suh Lauder Los Angeles Times

Jan. 28, 2019: First returns

Returns as of April 21: 1,

Dec. 20, 2018: Policy announced

Total returns as of Aug. 25: 37,

Asylum seekers returned to Mexico

U.S. officials have sharply increased the number of returns
of asylum seekers to Mexico since launching the “Remain
in Mexico” policy.

Asylum policy

on shaky ground

[Asylum,from A10]

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Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

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