U.S. Border Woes Continue as Foreign Countries Refuse to Take Migrants Back

White House and Homeland Security officials worry that foreign countries' refusal to take migrants back poses a growing obstacle to balancing humanitarian and national security concerns.

Landwebs Landwebs
Nov 17, 2021 - 08:00
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Migrants fleeing countries that refuse to take them back are driving new backlogs in the U.S. immigration system, reports Axios. Cuba and Venezuela are some of the least cooperative countries when it comes to U.S. efforts to return migrants who don’t qualify for asylum or other protections. Brazil and Nicaragua accept a limited number of deportation flights but require extensive notice, and otherwise make it more difficult than other parts of the world. Mexico also refuses migrants from these countries under the controversial pandemic-related policy called Title 42.

U.S. officials at the southern border have come across an average of nearly 800 Venezuelan migrants each day for the past week— more than any other nationality except those from Mexico. More than 5,000 Cubans, Brazilians and Venezuelans crossed the dangerous Darién Gap into Panama last month, on top of more than 17,000 Haitians. The Joe Biden administration is trying to address the issue, first by asking Mexico to ramp up enforcement. There also are plans to be more aggressive in detaining migrants from recalcitrant countries in the hope of deterring future migration. And the U.S. is in discussions with Central American nations to find ways to send some migrants to them.

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