SALT LAKE CITY — When the U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ends Thursday, so too will all pandemic-era restrictions, including Title 42, which prevented many asylum seekers from crossing the Mexican border into America.
Mayra Molina, an immigrant who came to the U.S. 25 years ago, has dedicated herself to helping migrants seeking asylum in Utah through the Venezuelan Alliance of Utah in 2018.
“It's not a secret, the war, that Venezuela is having the worst crisis with the regime from Nicolas Maduro," she said. "Unfortunately, the liberty and the law over there, they don't comply with anyone, so that means if you think different than the government, you can be killed.”
Authorities have sent away migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border 2.8 million times since Title 42 began in March of 2020, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
Resources here in Utah might not be enough for the surge in migrants, said Noemi Flores with COVID-19 Education Promotora with Comunidades Unidas.
“You've had almost three years of people that were wanting to enter the country for asylum who are currently waiting for that day, like, 'Can I finally seek help? Can I finally seek protection?,'" she said. "This is really concerning, this is going to be affecting us within like next week, we can have a surge even just by this weekend.”
Migrants have always sought asylum in Utah, said Flores.
“My family that’s immigrants, they started off in California back in 1999 and moved over to Utah," she said. "We haven't left since. It has become our home. It's been so welcoming, so kind.”
These advocates hope Utahns will continue welcoming migrants with open arms, while acknowledging the immigration system has a ways to go until it can truly benefit everyone.
“As an immigrant myself, I understand what that means," said Molina. "aving an opportunity to get a better life, to be able to provide for your family, to have better services, a better quality of life. As an American citizen, I also understand that we need to follow the laws in this country.”
Governor Spencer Cox sent the following statement to FOX 13 News:
“What we’re seeing at the border is the failure of successive administrations and Congresses to act over decades. We absolutely have to secure our border; we can’t keep having people and drugs entering our country illegally. And we also need to have policies that allow immigrants to enter the right way. We love Rep. Curtis’s legislation allowing states to be part of the solution by issuing work visas based on each state’s specific labor needs, and we hope this will open the door to new policy solutions which are urgently needed.”
