Haitian immigrants cross border through Mexico, claim asylum for quick processing and entry

Haitian immigrants are surging across America’s southwest border, blazing a path through Mexico to the U.S., where they have been coached to claim asylum, earning them quick processing and almost immediate entry into the country.

Analysts called it a backdoor amnesty that’s increasingly being abused by illegal immigrants who normally would have no shot of staying in the U.S., but who, by claiming asylum, can gain a foothold here. The Haitians are the latest to discover the route, likely encouraged by smugglers who stand to make thousands of dollars from each migrant they transport through Mexico and up to the U.S. land border.

A video obtained by Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, which originated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shows Haitians massing outside of a Mexican detention facility on that country’s border with Guatemala, ahead of what analysts said was likely a long journey north to the U.S.

“It’s a method for backdoor entry that presents a real exposure, because it’s virtually open to anyone to enter the U.S. without any real scrutiny or undergoing the regular process,” said Joe Kasper, chief of staff to Mr. Hunter. “The fact that 300 Haitians show up in Mexico and from that point are virtually guaranteed entry into the U.S. underscores one of many major problems with the president’s immigration policy — and Americans need to recognize it.”

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