The global pandemic and the reaction of governments around the world

The massive outbreak of COVID-19 around the world was sudden and forced governments to implement emergency measures and strategies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, protect the local population, prevent its spread in their territories and safeguard essential resources.

Certainly, since it is a health crisis without precedent in recent history of humanity, governments have the power to use unconventional protocols in order to protect the economy, the health system and the population.

For instance, in the case of the US, which is still the main epicenter of the global Coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration, like many other countries, closed the borders and banned the entry of foreigners as an emergency measure.

Express deportations amid the health crisis

Due to the closure of the borders, other strategies had to take place in order to prevent the entry of foreigners in the US, including express deportations.

To understand the issue at hand, it is important to clarify that when border forces detain undocumented immigrants trying to cross the borders, they usually take them to immigration detention centers before deporting them or, if they meet mandatory requirements, they can appeal their cases and possibly request legal documentation in the US.

However, the health emergency allowed the Trump administration to deport thousands of undocumented immigrants in a matter of hours, without allowing them to appeal their cases or request international protection, except for some specific scenarios. This includes unaccompanied immigrant minors.

Naturally, because express deportations could unleash a humanitarian crisis and put the integrity of innocent people at risk, hundreds of immigration attorneys, immigrant rights advocates, activists and even congressmen have raised their voices, calling on the Trump government to halt express deportations amid the global pandemic.

Adding to that, border forces are conducting operations to detain and deport undocumented immigrants who managed to cross the borders without prior authorization and currently reside in the US, which could worsen the health crisis.

Do you need help with a deportation case? Feel free to contact Motion Law Immigration and follow the advice of experts.

Congressmen send letter to DHS to halt deportations amid health crisis

On November 24, 2020, 11 members of the US Congress sent a letter to current Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Chaf Wolf.

It is important to clarify that the DHS is in charge of supervising border entities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Congressmen state that deporting hundreds of undocumented immigrants in a daily basis might:

• Increase the massive outbreak of Coronavirus in the US.
• Export the virus to vulnerable territories, which have an unstable health system.
• Put the health of federal officials at risk.
• Put the health of immigrant communities at risk.
• Increase risk among immigrant communities currently residing in the country, as they avoid seeking medical assistance for fear of deportation.

They propose to temporarily halt, at least until the threat to public health subsides, deportations of immigrants that do not pose a threat to the American population or public safety.

Congressmen also ask Wolf to answer a series of questions about protocols implemented by border forces during the sanitary emergency and what are the reasons for increasing deportations in a pandemic as critical as the one we are going through. They ask for these answers before December 11, 2020.

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