More migrants come through Nogales as Title 8 rules come back

NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — It was a pretty quiet day in Nogales, Arizona on Saturday. Vehicles were going into Mexico through the DeConsini Port of Entry and were also coming into the United States.

However, there was not as much traffic going through the port as there was on Friday.

On Friday, the first full day after Title 42 lifted, there weren’t very many migrants passing through Nogales, Arizona.

On Saturday it was a bit different with at least one bus full of about 20 migrants leaving Nogales for an asylum shelter.

“I’m glad that there’s calm. We always want calm,” Francis Glad said.

She’s the chair of the Democratic Party of Santa Cruz County and said she wasn’t expecting very many migrants to be in Nogales after Title 42 lifted in Arizona on Thursday at 9 P.M.

“I don’t believe that they’re wanting to come illegally,” she said.

When it comes to Title 42, Glad said it did a good job of keeping migrants who crossed illegally out of the United States.

Now, Title 8, which was in place even years before the pandemic, is back, and she said it will work just as well to keep undocumented migrants out of the country, but she feels like it will be safer.

“Because if you’re coming in legally, you won’t have to go through the desert, go through all those dangers,” she said.

The U.S. government was still using Title 8 while it was using title 42, but in a way, they were opposite policies.

Title 42 gave undocumented migrants little to no consequences for crossing the border illegally but it made it harder to ask for asylum.

Title 8, on the other hand, allows migrants to ask for asylum but has stricter consequences for crossing illegally.

However, Steven McEwen, the chair of the Republican Party of Santa Cruz County said Title 8 isn’t a strong enough policy.

“Until we start holding the countries responsible that are assisting these people to get here, this is never going to go away,” McEwen said.

If a migrant crosses illegally and is already going to be taken out of the U.S. through a quicker process, Title 8 allows migrants to ask for asylum before an immigration judge with the U.S. Department of Justice or an asylum officer.

However, they have to prove they are being persecuted, tortured, or are scared to go back to their country.

If they are not found to have a credible fear, then they can have an immigration judge review their case again, but if they don’t request that or the judge doesn’t find their fear credible, they can be removed from the U.S..

Title 8 bans migrants for at least five years and if they try to cross illegally again, they could face criminal prosecution.

However, McEwen feels like in order to lower the amount of illegal crossings, the U.S. should take other actions.

“The wall is a good deterrent. It’s not a solution. I think there’s got to be some international agreeing going on,” he said.