The U.S. government has defended its actions on the Mexican-U.S. border. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on CNN on Sunday that the number of border crossings had fallen by half compared to the previous week. Before the end of the Title 42 pandemic entry order on Friday, more than 10,000 people per day had crossed the border; on Friday, according to Mayorkas, there were only 6300 people, on Saturday 4200 people. This is due to the clear message of the Biden administration.

Sofia Dreisbach

Political correspondent for North America, based in Washington.

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It has been made clear that there are legal ways, Mayorkas told CNN, "and that there are consequences if you do not comply with them: deportation, an entry ban of five years and possibly criminal prosecution." However, it is "too early" to say whether the increase in the number of migrants has already peaked last week. In recent months, the government has prepared "extraordinarily" well for the end of Title 42.

This regulation allowed border officials, citing public health, to turn away migrants with no chance of asylum. Since March 2020, this has been a good two and a half million people. Now, tens of thousands are waiting at the border, hoping to enter the United States in the coming weeks.

"Investigating the government's mistakes"

President Joe Biden expressed confidence on Sunday. He hopes that the number of migrants will continue to fall. However, there is still a lot of work to be done and "more help from Congress" is needed. The Democrats are calling for more money for border security and changes to the law.

The Republicans, on the other hand, had passed a bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday, which partly provides for a return to the restrictive border policy under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.

The chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives, Republican Mark Green, accused Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on Sunday of failure. He will examine the mistakes of this government and the minister "very closely," he said on CNN. The Republican bill is not intended to regulate immigration, but to "secure our borders."

Among other things, the Biden administration's new migration policy provides for migrants to make an appointment for entry via an app. However, this is only possible if they are already in Mexico. In addition, there will be regional processing centers for asylum seekers in Guatemala and Colombia to alleviate the pressure on the U.S.-Mexico border.