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LA congresswoman visits San Ysidro, 25 more MPP migrants enter US

Posted at 5:57 AM, Feb 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-23 08:57:06-05

SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (KGTV) -- Twenty-five more migrants were allowed to enter the U.S. on Monday, where they are able to seek asylum in the country instead of having to wait in Mexico.

The change, is one of the first in the Biden administration’s new immigration plan.

President Biden ended the Migrant Protection Protocols program, also known as MPP. Twenty-five migrants will be allowed in to make their asylum case every day, Monday-Friday.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan, of Los Angeles, traveled to the San Ysidro Port of Entry to witness the entry process for herself.

Rep. Barragan oversaw the entire process, from the moments the migrants arrived on a bus to the port and were then processed by officers from Customs and Border Protection. The migrants have all been previously processed and tested negative for COVID-19.

Barragan told ABC 10News she saw a lot of successes during her tour at the border, praising the administration for reversing Trump’s MPP program, but said there are still many more things that need to improve.

The representative, who is also the chair for the Homeland Security Border subcommittee, says officials need to ramp up the number of people they process on a daily basis, explaining that the process to vet and test the migrants for covid-19 needs to be more efficient.

The work is currently being done by non-governmental organizations. Migrants in MPP must register online through the UN Refugee Agency before they can present themselves at the port.

Congressman Darrell Issa sent ABC 10News the following statement regarding the Biden administration’s recent changes to seeking asylum.

Californians have sacrificed much waiting for their kids to be allowed back in school, their businesses to be reopened and their church doors to be unlocked. It is fundamentally unfair that they will now be asked to foot the bill for housing, health care and schooling for thousands of economic migrants who we are told cannot wait. There is nothing humane about open borders for San Diego.
Congressman Darrell Issa