Mexico suspends issuance of migratory documents in wake of Title 42 ending

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Following the end of the Title 42 policy, Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) has ordered all immigration offices in the country not to issue Multiple Migratory Forms, a document that serves as proof of a migrant's legal stay in Mexico, or any other document authorizing their transit through the country.

The measure follows the end of the policy that empowered the US to push migrants back into their country or Mexico and the closure of 33 migrant shelters nationwide.

Considering the end of Title 42 and anticipating a potential influx of migrants, the INM has decided that mass rescues could violate human rights as there is no accommodation available for incomers.

Therefore, the issuance of immigration permits has been suspended.

The Foreign Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, emphasized during the presidential morning briefing that Mexico does not have the resources or capacity to receive more than 1,000 people per day, and he stated, "We won't allow it."

The Mexican authorities reported a total of 26,560 migrants along the northern border on the eve of the end of Title 42 on May 11.

According to Ebrard, the cities of Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros have the highest number of asylum seekers, with 10,500 migrants currently remaining at the Mexican border.

The minister stated that a group of 500 migrants is attempting to cross the border in Tijuana, northeastern Mexico, while 24 migrants who breached the border fence in Ciudad Juarez were soon arrested by the US Border Patrol.

"In a few words, to summarize, the flow is decreasing today, at least up to this hour; we have had no confrontations or situations of violence at the border," said Ebrard.

In addition, Ebrard lauded President Joe Biden's efforts to enable legal pathways for orderly migration, praising the 360,000 permits to those who complete their migration procedures through a required mobile phone app known as CBP One.

"They have more than 100,000. They are complying. Another 100,000 are now open for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador!" praised Ebrard.

However, human rights organizations have denounced Biden's immigration policies and the subservient attitude of the Mexican government, which places migrants at risk.

The network of migrant shelters, Red Franciscana para Migrantes, the Quixote Center, and the US-based American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have condemned the onset of a Biden migration policy, scheduled to be published on May 16 that imposes requirements difficult to meet.

The new Act will bar migrants from being able to seek asylum unless they have applied for asylum in a third country and have been denied or if they manage to secure an appointment through the CBP One smartphone app, which offers limited slots and is often overcrowded.

At the end of Title 42, migrants still face closed borders in Mexico and the United States.