EL PASO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2020) Migrants in the Mexican border city of Juarez have not been discouraged from seeking legal entry into the United States despite obstacles brought on by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, such as delayed immigration court hearings and US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend immigration for two months, Ivonna Lopez, a social worker at the Casa Del Migrante shelter, told Sputnik.
The Casa Del Migrant shelter in Juarez currently houses about 260 migrants who are waiting to request asylum or attend their court hearings in the United States.
"The migrants are calm," Lopez said. "Right now they are in the process of [waiting for their] appointments. They want to continue waiting for the process."
Lopez said no migrants at the shelter have had their asylum cases rejected due to the temporary halt on US immigration.
US immigration court hearings for asylum-seeking migrants have been delayed since March 18 and are currently delayed until May 15, according to the US Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Migrants have not been discouraged from seeking entry into the United States despite the massive COVID-19 outbreak, but several have already become personally impacted by the disease.
"They are concerned because they have been notified that they have relatives with the coronavirus and they can't do anything for them," Lopez said.
The Government of the State of Chihuahua reported on Wednesday that the city of Juarez has 259 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 64 deaths caused by the disease.
The Mexican government has suspended all non-essential activities in the public, private and social sectors until April 30. Essential workplaces must practice social-distancing measures, proper hygiene and avoid gatherings of more than 50 people.
"As a shelter we are taking all the necessary precautions and thanks to my father God we have not had any cases," Lopez said. "We are hoping we continue that way. We have all the security of cleaning and social distancing between all people. All areas are disinfected."
Just across the border in the Texas city of El Paso there are 857 confirmed cases and 14 deaths as of Tuesday, according to the city's health department.
The UN Refugee Agency reported on Tuesday that 65 shelters in Mexico have closed their doors to new arrivals in order to try to prevent outbreaks in their facilities.
Lopez said migrants remain hopeful in part because shelters are helping migrants weather these turbulent times.
"I think having a safe place to go back to gives them a little more encouragement," Lopez said.
The US border security agency published data in early April that showed apprehensions on the US-Mexico border had dropped amid the pandemic. Border apprehensions on the southern US border dropped from 36,514 in February to 33,937 in March. In four of the last five years, border apprehensions usually increased during the same period.
Moreover, US immigration agencies have been dealing with rapidly growing cases of COVID-19 among detainees and employees. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported on Tuesday that 92 ICE employees and 425 migrants in their custody have tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, US Customs and Border Protection reported that 305 of its employees have contracted the novel coronavirus.
