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World

U.S. to outline Nov. 8 international travel reopening, vaccination rules

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A U.S. flag is reflected on the floor as passengers make their way through Reagan National Airport in Washington, U.S., July 1, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The Biden administration plans to unveil on Monday its detailed rules requiring nearly all foreign air visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Nov. 8, sources told Reuters.

The White House first disclosed on Sept. 20 it would remove restrictions in early November for fully vaccinated air travelers from 33 countries.

The extraordinary U.S. travel restrictions were first imposed in early 2020 to address the spread of COVID-19. The rules bar most non-U.S. citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the United Kingdom, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.

The White House plans to outline the legal framework requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for most foreign air travelers replacing the current restrictions, as well as rules for exemptions from the requirements.

The Biden administration will also detail requirements airlines must follow to confirm foreign travelers have been vaccinated before boarding U.S.-bound flights.

The White House announced on Oct. 15 that the new vaccine rules would take effect on Nov. 8.

One concern among U.S. officials and airlines is making sure foreign travelers are aware of the new vaccine rules that will take effect in just two weeks.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to issue new contact tracing rules requiring airlines to collect information from international air passengers. The White House said earlier airlines will provide the information “upon request to follow up with travelers who have been exposed to COVID-19 variants or other pathogens.”

The CDC said this month it would accept any vaccine authorized for use by U.S. regulators or the World Health Organization and will accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from travelers.

The new rules are expected to exempt minor children from the vaccine requirements, the sources said.

The Biden administration has also been discussing initially exempting citizens of a small number of countries with extremely low vaccination rates because of a lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines, the sources said, saying that would include enhanced testing requirements.

Foreign air travelers will need to provide vaccination documentation from an “official source” and airlines must confirm the last dose was at least two weeks earlier than the travel date.

International air travelers will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure. The White House said in September unvaccinated Americans will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of departing.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

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Health

U.S. to lift Canada, Mexico land border restrictions in Nov for vaccinated visitors

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WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – The United States will lift restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals in early November, ending historic curbs on non-essential travelers in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement the administration next month “will begin allowing travelers from Mexico and Canada who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to enter the United States for non-essential purposes, including to visit friends and family or for tourism, via land and ferry border crossings.”

The new rules are similar but not identical to planned requirements announced last month for international air travelers, U.S. officials said in a call earlier with reporters.

Lawmakers from U.S border states praised the move to lift the unprecedented restrictions which harmed the economies of local communities and has prevented visits to friends and families for 19 months.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, members of our shared cross-border community have felt the pain and economic hardship of the land border closures. That pain is about to end,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Unvaccinated visitors will still be barred from entering the United States from Canada or Mexico at land borders.

The officials from President Joe Biden’s administration emphasized that the White House would not lift the “Title 42” order put in place by former President Donald Trump’s administration that has essentially cut off access to asylum for hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking to enter from Mexico.

The precise date in early November when the restrictions will be lifted on both land and air travel will be announced “very soon,” one of the officials said.

Homeland Security said the administration was creating “consistent, stringent protocols for all foreign nationals traveling to the United States – whether by air, land, or ferry.”

Canada on Aug. 9 began allowing fully vaccinated U.S. visitors for non-essential travel.

A U.S. and a Canadian flag flutter at the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge, which remains closed to non-essential traffic to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2020. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg/File Photo

‘GREAT RELIEF’

Once the U.S. curbs are lifted, non-essential foreign visitors crossing U.S. land borders, such as tourists, will be able to visit if they are vaccinated. In early January, the United States will require essential visitors, like truck drivers or healthcare workers, to be vaccinated to cross land borders, the officials said.

U.S. lawmakers have been pushing the White House to lift restrictions that have barred non-essential travel by Canadians across the northern U.S. border since March 2020, and many border communities have been hit hard by the closure. Mexico has also pressed the Biden administration to ease restrictions.

Senator Maria Cantwell said the announcement “will provide great relief to those waiting to see friends and loved ones from Canada.”

The White House announced on Sept. 20 that the United States in early November would lift travel restrictions on air travelers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It also said it would extend the vaccine requirements to foreign air travelers from all other countries.

Foreign visitors crossing into the United States by land or ferry will need to be vaccinated but will not necessarily need to show proof of vaccination unless they are referred by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for secondary inspections.

By contrast, all non-U.S. air travelers will need to show proof of vaccination before boarding a flight, and will need to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test. Foreign visitors crossing a land border will not need to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.

On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the United States would accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorized by U.S. regulators or the World Health Organization.

One question unanswered is whether the United States will accept vaccines from visitors who received doses of two different COVID-19 vaccines.

The U.S. land border restrictions have not barred U.S. citizens from returning home.

Reporting by David Shepardson, Steve Holland, Tim Ahmann and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Eric Beech, Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Richard Pullin

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World

North Korea accuses U.N. of double standards over missile tests, warns of consequences

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SEOUL, Oct 3 (Reuters) – North Korea said on Sunday the United Nations Security Council applied double standards over military activities among U.N. member states, state media KCNA said, amid international criticism over its recent missile tests.

The Council met behind closed doors on Friday upon requests from the United States and other countries over the North’s missile launches.

The meeting came a day after Pyongyang fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, the latest in a recent series of weapons tests including the launches of a previously unseen hypersonic missile, ballistic missiles and a cruise missile with potential nuclear capabilities.

Jo Chol Su, director of the North Korean foreign ministry’s Department of International Organisations, said the Security Council meeting means an “open ignorance of and wanton encroachment” on its sovereignty and “serious intolerable provocation.”

Jo accused the Council of double standards as it remains silent about U.S. joint military exercises and weapons tests with allies, while taking issue with the North’s “self-defensive” activities.

“This is a denial of impartiality, objectivity and equilibrium, lifelines of the U.N. activities, and an evident manifestation of double-dealing standard,” Jo said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

A newly developed anti-aircraft missile is seen during a test conducted by the Academy of Defence Science, in this undated photo released on October 1, 2021 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS

Jo warned the council could face consequences if it continues to breach the North’s sovereignty “with the double-dealing stick” and rely on “the U.S.-style brigandish way of thinking and judgment.”

Pyongyang has said in recent weeks that its weapons tests are aimed at boosting its defence capabilities just as other countries do, accusing Washington and Seoul of “double standards” and “hostile policy” toward it.

The tests underscored how the reclusive state has been constantly developing increasingly sophisticated weapons, raising the stakes for stalled talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes in return for U.S. sanctions relief.

The United States has criticised the launches as “destabilising” and posing regional threats, but said it has no hostile intent toward North Korea, urging it to accept offers to resume negotiations.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Friday that Washington remained ready to discuss a “full range of issues.”

“We’ve made specific proposals for discussions with the North Koreans, but have not received a response to date,” she told reporters.

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by William Mallard and Michael Perry

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World

Ecuador to pardon thousands after 118 die in worst-ever prison riot

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QUITO/GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Ecuador is planning to pardon up to 2,000 inmates in order to relieve overcrowding at its detention centers after 118 inmates died and a further 79 were injured in the country’s worst-ever prison riot earlier this week, an official said on Friday.

Bolivar Garzon, the director of the South American country’s SNAI prison authority, said the government aimed to prioritize the elderly, women, and prisoners with disabilities and terminal illnesses in the wake of the clashes on Tuesday at the Penitenciaria del Litoral in the southern city of Guayaquil.

The country’s prisons are currently home to some 39,000 inmates, Garzon added.

Garzon said the riot, the latest in a wave of prison violence in the Andean country, was sparked by “a battle for control by organized crime groups.” Riots left 79 dead in February and 22 in July of this year.

Officials say gangs have alliances with transnational criminal groups and are battling over drug trafficking routes.

Ecuador has sent 3,600 police and military reinforcements to prisons across the country to maintain order, Interior Minister Alexandra Vela told reporters on Friday. She added that forensic units had identified 41 of the victims, and had delivered the bodies of 21 of the victims to their families.

Dozens of inmates’ relatives have gathered outside a Guayaquil morgue seeking information about their loved ones. Authorities said at least six victims were decapitated.

Eduardo Montes, 60, was awaiting news of his 25-year-old brother Vicente Montes, who is due to be released in one month.

“They sent us a photo where you can see the head of one victim, and we believe it is my brother, but we do not know if he is really dead or if he is alive,” Montes said. “I have hope that he is alive and that they release him.”

Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito and Yury Garcia in Guayaquil, Ecuador; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Howard Goller and Aurora Ellis

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Business

El Salvador president gets hands-on to fix bitcoin wallet roll-out woes

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SAN SALVADOR, Sept 8 (Reuters) – El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele stepped in on Wednesday to closely manage the fraught roll-out of a payments app that underpins the nation’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, and called on users to report any problems on his Twitter feed.

Adopting language similar to IT departments in offices around the world, Bukele asked users to close and restart the app if a “currently under maintenance” error screen appeared.

The historic adoption of bitcoin as legal tender by the Central American country has been beset by teething problems that have contributed to a rout in the value of the digital currency globally.

Bitcoin continued to lose ground on Wednesday, trading down by more than 1.7% to about $46,000 at 1600 GMT.

That has not stopped some bullish forecasts about its future, with a new cryptocurrency research team at Standard Chartered predicting bitcoin will hit $100,000 by early next year and could be worth as much as $175,000 longer-term.

Bukele has sent a stream of Twitter messages over the past 36 hours instructing users on how to download the government-backed Chivo app which promises commission-free transactions and which his administration hopes will be adopted by the unbanked.

Overnight the president said the app, a digital wallet, was being disconnected for the second time to “improve user experience and the problems it had during the day.”

“We hope that tomorrow will be much better,” he wrote in a tweet.

Several users replied in his comments section to report ongoing installation problems.

Notwithstanding the technical issues, the app’s roll-out appears to have created a buzz in El Salvador, in part due to a government handout of $30 in bitcoin to every local user who signs up, and despite polls that show many people are wary of bitcoin’s volatility.

On the El Salvador edition of Apple’s (AAPL.O) App Store, Chivo was the No. 1 downloaded financial app on Wednesday.

Bukele earlier said only a few phone models would initially have access to the app on Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google Pay to avoid a rush that could collapse the system.

Reuters could not immediately determine how many times the app had been downloaded.

Global retailers operating in El Salvador were accepting bitcoin at some stores, including McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) and Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O), along with several local outlets.

Bukele, 40, who is doing well in opinion polls but has been accused of eroding democracy, is a heavy user of social media to govern and engage with the population.

Reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

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Business

The electric vehicle boom is pay-dirt for factory machinery makers

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DETROIT, Aug 20 (Reuters) – The investment surge by both new and established automakers in the electric vehicle market is a bonanza for factory equipment manufacturers that supply the highly automated picks and shovels for the prospectors in the EV gold rush.

The good times for the makers of robots and other factory equipment reflect the broader recovery in U.S. manufacturing. After falling post-COVID to $361.8 million in April 2020, new orders surged to almost $506 million in June, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Reuters Graphics

Here’s a graphic on U.S. manufacturing new orders: https://tmsnrt.rs/3lVyhlM

New electric vehicle factories, funded by investors who have snapped up newly public shares in companies such as EV start-up Lucid Group Inc (LCID.O) are boosting demand. “I’m not sure it’s reached its climax yet. There’s still more to go,” Andrew Lloyd, electromobility segment leader at Stellantis-owned (STLA.MI) supplier Comau, said in an interview. “Over the next 18 to 24 months, there’s going to be a significant demand coming our way.”

Growth in the EV sector, propelled by the success of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), comes on top of the normal work manufacturing equipment makers do to support production of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Automakers will invest over $37 billion in North American plants from 2019 to 2025, with 15 of 17 new plants in the United States, according to LMC Automotive. Over 77% of that spending will be directed at SUV or EV projects.

Equipment providers are in no rush to add to their nearly full capacity.

“There’s a natural point where we will say ‘No'” to new business, said Comau’s Lloyd. For just one area of a factory, like a paint shop or a body shop, an automaker can easily spend $200 million to $300 million, industry officials said.

‘WILD, WILD WEST’ “This industry is the Wild, Wild West right now,” John Kacsur, vice president of the automotive and tire segment for Rockwell Automation(ROK.N), told Reuters. “There is a mad race to get these new EV variants to market.” Automakers have signed agreements for suppliers to build equipment for 37 EVs between this year and 2023 in North America, according to industry consultant Laurie Harbour. That excludes all the work being done for gasoline-powered vehicles.

“There’s still a pipeline with projects from new EV manufacturers,” said Mathias Christen, a spokesman for Durr AG (DUEG.DE), which specializes in paint shop equipment and saw its EV business surge about 65% last year. “This is why we don’t see the peak yet.”

Orders received by Kuka AG, a manufacturing automation company owned by China’s Midea Group (000333.SZ), rose 52% in the first half of 2021 to just under 1.9 billion euros ($2.23 billion) – the second-highest level for a 6-month period in the company’s history, due to strong demand in North America and Asia.

“We ran out of capacity for any additional work about a year and a half ago,” said Mike LaRose, CEO of Kuka’s (KU2G.DE) auto group in the Americas. “Everyone’s so busy, there’s no floor space.”

Kuka is building electric vans for General Motors Co (GM.N) at its plant in Michigan to help meet early demand before the No. 1 U.S. automaker replaces equipment in its Ingersoll, Ontario, plant next year to handle the regular work. Automakers and battery firms need to order many of the robots and other equipment they need 18 months in advance, although Neil Dueweke, vice president of automotive at Fanuc Corp’s (6954.T) American operations, said customers want their equipment sooner. He calls that the “Amazon effect” in the industry.

“We built a facility and have like 5,000 robots on shelves stacked 200 feet high, almost as far as the eye can see,” said Dueweke, who noted Fanuc America set sales and market share records last year.

COVID has also caused issues and delays for some automakers trying to tool up.

R.J. Scaringe, CEO of EV startup Rivian, said in a letter to customers last month that “everything from facility construction, to equipment installation, to vehicle component supply (especially semiconductors) has been impacted by the pandemic.”

However, established, long-time customers like GM and parts supplier and contract manufacturer Magna International (MG.TO) said they have not experienced delays in receiving equipment.

Another limiting factor for capacity has been the continuing shortage of labor, industry officials said. To avoid the stress, startups like Fisker Inc (FSR.N) have turned to contract manufacturers like Magna and Foxconn(2354.TW), whose buying power enables them to avoid shortages more easily, CEO Henrik Fisker said. Growing demand, however, does not mean these equipment makers are rushing to expand capacity. Having lived through downturns in which they were forced to make cuts, equipment suppliers want to make do with what they have, or in Comau’s case, just add short-term capacity, according to Lloyd. “Everybody’s afraid they’re going to get hammered,” said Mike Tracy, a principal at consulting firm the Agile Group. “They just don’t have the reserve capacity they used to have.”

Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; additional reporting by Joseph White; Editing by Dan Grebler

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Business

GM workers in Mexico defeat union in first test of U.S. trade deal

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The General Motors plant is seen as its workers are to vote on whether to reject or keep the collective bargaining agreement, marking the first major test of labor rules under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in Silao, Mexico August 17, 2021. REUTERS/Sergio Maldonado

MEXICO CITY, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Workers at a General Motors Co (GM.N) pickup-truck plant in central Mexico have voted to scrap their collective contract, opening the door for them to oust one of Mexico’s largest labor organizations as their union under a new trade deal.

The vote, with safeguards agreed upon by Mexico and the United States to ensure a fair vote, was the first test of labor rules under an accord that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The outcome marks a defeat for one of the most powerful unions in Mexico while representing an opening for workers to freely choose independent groups they feel will best fight for their interests.

An initial vote in April was suspended after Mexico’s labor ministry found irregularities in the process, prompting the United States to lodge the first complaint under the labor enforcement mechanism of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which took effect last year.

The unionized workers will keep the same terms for pay and benefits as they seek new representation or create a union from scratch. Choosing a new union will require another vote, in which the current union could also vie to take back the contract.

Of 5,876 GM employees who cast ballots in the Tuesday-Wednesday vote at the plant in the city of Silao, 3,214 workers rejected the bargaining agreement while 2,623 workers voted to keep it, the labor ministry said in a statement.

Many workers who campaigned for the “no” vote said their current union did not fight hard enough for better salaries at the plant that produces thousands of profitable pickup trucks a year. read more

“It’s a huge peace of mind knowing we’re no longer tied to this union,” said G.D., a plant employee for more than 25 years who said he reached the top salary level for his position years ago, and who asked not to disclose his name for fear of reprisals.

The ballot count was led by the plant’s Miguel Trujillo Lopez union – part of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) – alongside observers from the Labor Ministry, Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) and the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO).

Neither the union nor GM immediately replied to requests for comment.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which represents thousands of GM’s U.S. workers, said the vote marked a win on both sides of the border.

“For UAW members this will lead to a fairer playing field by lifting wages and benefits in countries like Mexico,” it said in a statement.

Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, said the vote set an example of what USMCA had aimed to achieve by giving workers a voice.

Mexico’s labor ministry said the vote took place “without incident” and would help set a precedent for best practices.

Such votes are required at unionized workplaces across Mexico under a labor reform that underpins USMCA labor rules and is geared at eliminating so-called sweetheart contracts between business-friendly unions and companies.

GM workers and labor activists hailed the outcome, saying it could inspire workers at other plants in the auto industry and beyond to follow suit by ousting unions that have long held power.

“For the first time, we could have workers deciding and discussing their work futures, their work conditions,” said Willebaldo Gomez, a researcher at Mexican labor rights group CILAS.

Still, the GM vote was only a first step on what could be a long path for workers to establish a new union.

“The other victory will be building an independent union, an organization that looks out for their interests and watches over their rights,” Gomez added.

Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Additional reporting by David Sehpardson;
Editing by Dave Graham, Matthew Lewis and Diane Craft

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Technology

Policy groups ask Apple to drop plans to inspect iMessages, scan for abuse images

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Aug 19 (Reuters) – More than 90 policy and rights groups around the world published an open letter on Thursday urging Apple (AAPL.O) to abandon plans for scanning children’s messages for nudity and the phones of adults for images of child sex abuse.

“Though these capabilities are intended to protect children and to reduce the spread of child sexual abuse material, we are concerned that they will be used to censor protected speech, threaten the privacy and security of people around the world, and have disastrous consequences for many children,” the groups wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.

The largest campaign to date over an encryption issue at a single company was organized by the U.S.-based nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT).

Some overseas signatories in particular are worried about the impact of the changes in nations with different legal systems, including some already hosting heated fights over encryption and privacy.

“It’s so disappointing and upsetting that Apple is doing this, because they have been a staunch ally in defending encryption in the past,” said Sharon Bradford Franklin, co-director of CDT’s Security & Surveillance Project.

An Apple spokesman said the company had addressed privacy and security concerns in a document Friday outlining why the complex architecture of the scanning software should resist attempts to subvert it.

Those signing included multiple groups in Brazil, where courts have repeatedly blocked Facebook’s (FB.O) WhatsApp for failing to decrypt messages in criminal probes, and the senate has passed a bill that would require traceability of messages, which would require somehow marking their content. A similar law was passed in India this year.

“Our main concern is the consequence of this mechanism, how this could be extended to other situations and other companies,” said Flavio Wagner, president of the independent Brazil chapter of the Internet Society, which signed. “This represents a serious weakening of encryption.”

Other signers were in India, Mexico, Germany, Argentina, Ghana and Tanzania.

Surprised by the earlier outcry following its announcement two weeks ago, Apple has offered a series of explanations and documents to argue that the risks of false detections are low.

Apple said it would refuse demands to expand the image-detection system beyond pictures of children flagged by clearinghouses in multiple jurisdictions, though it has not said it would pull out of a market rather than obeying a court order.

Though most of the objections so far have been over device-scanning, the coalition’s letter also faults a change to iMessage in family accounts, which would try to identify and blur nudity in children’s messages, letting them view it only if parents are notified.

The signers said the step could endanger children in intolerant homes or those seeking educational material. More broadly, they said the change will break end-to-end encryption for iMessage, which Apple has staunchly defended in other contexts.

“Once this backdoor feature is built in, governments could compel Apple to extend notification to other accounts, and to detect images that are objectionable for reasons other than being sexually explicit,” the letter says.

Other groups that signed include the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now, Privacy International, and the Tor Project.

Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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World

Ship sailing under Panama flag runs aground in northern Japan, splits in two

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TOKYO, Aug 12 (Reuters) – A Panamanian-registered ship ran aground in a northern Japan harbour, then split in two and was leaking oil, but there were no injuries among the 21 crew and the oil leak was being controlled with no signs it had reached shore, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The 39,910-tonne vessel, the “Crimson Polaris,” was carrying wood chips when it ran aground on Wednesday morning in Hachinohe harbour. It managed to free itself, but due to poor weather was unable to move far and ended up anchoring about 4 km (2.4 miles)out from the port.

A view of the Panamanian-registered ship ‘Crimson Polaris’ after it ran aground in Hachinohe harbour in Hachinohe, northern Japan, August 12, 2021, in this handout photo taken and released by 2nd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters. Courtesy 2nd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters – Japan Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.

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The vessel, which was at the end of a voyage from Thailand, split in two early on Thursday, the Coast Guard said. An oil slick 5.1 km long by about 1 km wide was visible later in the day, but containment measures were being taken by patrol boats.

The vessel’s two parts have not moved and are being closely monitored by patrol boats, and by late afternoon there had been no apparent major change in its situation, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

Reporting by Elaine Lies
Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Michael Perry

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US

EXCLUSIVE U.S. starts flying migrant families into Mexico far from border – source

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Asylum-seeking migrant families from Central America wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States of America from Mexico in Roma, Texas, U.S., July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday began flying Central American and Mexican families to southern Mexico in an effort to deter migration by bolstering a COVID-era expulsion policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, a person familiar with the matter said.

Nearly 200 Mexican and Central American family members were expelled deep into Mexico on Thursday in what are expected to be regular flights, the person said. The flights, which will include adults, aim to disrupt a pattern of repeat crossings under a U.S. border policy known as Title 42.

U.S. President Joe Biden has reversed many of the restrictive immigration policies of his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump, but has left Title 42 in place amid 20-year highs in border arrests.

Although health experts, pro-migrant advocates and some Democrats say the policy cuts off access to asylum without a clear health rationale, Biden officials argue it is necessary to keep U.S. detention centers from becoming overwhelmed during the pandemic.

Under Trump, some Mexican migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border were flown to southern Mexico. But the use of the strategy under Biden – and under the Title 42 order – is new, according to the person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss government operations.

The United States will work with non-governmental organizations and shelters in southern Mexico to ensure that migrants can safely return to their home countries, the person said.

Mexico’s migration institute and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Biden administration also announced last week that it would subject migrant families to a fast-track deportation process known as “expedited removal” to their home countries from U.S. detention centers. read more

The expulsion flights to southern Mexico will be faster than that process, the person familiar with the situation said.

Pro-migrant groups on Monday restarted litigation that aims to stop the Biden administration from expelling families under Title 42, which the administration renewed that day. read more

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the groups challenging Title 42, has argued the policy denies migrants a legal right to claim asylum and returns them to situations of grave danger in Mexico.

Lee Gelernt, the lead ACLU lawyer in the case, said the flights to southern Mexico could also inflict harm.

“The Biden administration is apparently looking for new ways to expel people and in the process subject these desperate migrants to additional trauma,” he said.

Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington, Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Mica Rosenberg and Gerry Doyle

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