Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, refugees from the threatened nation started showing up at Mexico's border with the United States.
FILE - Ukrainian refugees wait near the U.S. border in Tijuana, Mexico, April 4, 2022. A month after Russia invaded Ukraine, refugees started showing up to the U.S.-Mexico border. Roughly 1,000 Ukrainians a day flew to Tijuana on tourist visas, desperate to get into the country. The volume was overwhelming the nations busiest border crossing in San Diego. Just over the border in Tijuana Mexico, thousands of Ukrainians slept in a municipal gym hoping to for a chance to get across.
“Our model is to build lawful pathways and then to impose consequences that the law provides on those that do not avail themselves of those lawful pathways,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters last month.first year as president in favor of an approach that pairs beefed-up enforcement with expanded legal pathways and diplomacy.
“I think they have a fighting chance, over time, to turn this into a real system that is both more fair and more controllable,” said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan immigration think tank. But alarms rang almost immediately when nearly 19,000 children traveling alone were stopped at the border in March 2021. Senior officials met twice weekly to strategize, moving children out of badlyto emergency shelters, including convention centers in California and military bases in Texas.
Mayorkas and others were worried that Ukrainians could be unsafe in their travels and their circuitous route to the U.S. was further straining border resources. That led to the “Uniting for Ukraine” policy, under which 128,000 people have been allowed into the U.S., with tens of thousands more approved to come. And the number of Ukrainians coming on foot essentially stopped.
So in January, Biden announced the policy would be expanded again to people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, and they increased the number of people: 30,000 from each of the four nationalities would be allowed in as long as they flew in, met background checks and had sponsors. Mexico agreed to take the same number back from those four countries who cross the border illegally.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canelo beats Ryder by unanimous decision in return to MexicoAlvarez bloodied the British challenger’s nose and knocked him down, cruising to the victory.
Read more »
U.S. and Allies Look at Potential China Role in Ending Ukraine WarU.S. and European officials say that Ukraine’s planned spring offensive could pave the way for negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, and that China could help bring Russia to the table
Read more »
Prigozhin says Wagner Group getting as much ammo 'as we need' for BakhmutPrigozhin has repeatedly criticized 'shell hunger' along the front lines in Ukraine.
Read more »
Nuclear watchdog growingly worried over Ukraine plant safety“We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequence for the population and the environment.”
Read more »
Ukraine farmers risk losing their lives or livelihoodsRussia's war has forced Ukraine's grain farmers into a vicious dilemma. Those in areas now free from Russian occupation are risking their lives to strip their land of explosives before the critical spring planting season. But they still must cope with soaring production and transportation costs caused by Russia’s blockade of many Black Sea ports and recent restrictions that neighboring countries imposed on Ukrainian grain. The dual crisis is causing many farmers to cut back on sowing crops. The head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Ukraine says that the “drastic reduction” of grain crops potentially threatens global food security.
Read more »
Nuclear watchdog's worries grow over Ukraine plant safetyThe head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog is expressing growing anxiety about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Read more »