San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared that the migrant camps on the Mexican border are formed by restrictive measures to the possibility of requesting asylum in the United States.
“Restrictive measures such as “Stay in Mexico” and Title 42 prevent migrants from their legal right to seek asylum and contribute to the creation of these camps,” Gloria said in response to a message from his colleague from Tijuana, Montserrat Caballero, after the eviction of El Chaparral migrant camp.
"San Diego stands ready to work with our federal partners to end these policies, for all of us," Gloria said.
“Stay in Mexico” or Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and Title 42 are measures that the Trump administration imposed and that the administration of President Joe Biden has continued.
MPP forced about 70,000 migrants to wait at the Mexican border, sometimes for two years without resolution, court dates, and resolutions to their asylum requests. Title 42 is a public health measure that authorizes the border patrol to immediately return migrants seeking asylum to Mexico, presumably to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Commentary made by Gloria was due to the dismantling of the El Chaparral migrant camp by authorities on Sunday, deployed on the esplanade of the El Chaparral de Tijuana or PedWest pedestrian checkpoint in San Diego.
The port of entry was closed on March 21, 2021, among other restrictions on non-essential border crossings in the context of the pandemic. When the U.S. government lifted those restrictions in the first week of November, the pedestrian crossing could not be reopened because the camp occupied the entire entrance area.
The comments made by Gloria coincide with that of the organizations that defend the rights of migrants about restoring the right to asylum.
