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Why Metering Undermines Orderly Operations

When metering was in full effect, it did not create an orderly system. Instead, it artificially limited the number of people permitted to seek asylum. At its simplest level, metering consisted of officers telling migrants that they were closed for the day and forcing them to leave. At its more complex level, it required migrants to register for informal waiting lists managed by private actors or foreign government officials in northern Mexico.

Migrants often waited for weeks or months in these locations, existing in squalid conditions within makeshift camps, shelters, or on the streets. During these long periods of waiting, they were frequently subjected to extreme abuses, including torture, rape, and extortion by criminal cartels.

Historically, since the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980, the expectation has been that any person approaching a border official to request asylum would be taken into custody to have their claim adjudicated. This process was supposed to be consistent whether it occurred at an airport, a maritime dock, or a pedestrian lane at a major land crossing. Metering turned this principle on its head by allowing officers to turn people away entirely, effectively closing the door on the asylum process.

Crucially, internal government investigations have revealed that claims of capacity issues were often false. A 2020 report from the DHS Office of Inspector General found that even when public officials were telling migrants to go to ports of entry, they were simultaneously instructing those same ports to deprioritize asylum processing. Officials often misled the public and the media by claiming they were overwhelmed, even when they had empty holding cells and available staff.

The Consequences of Dangerous Policies

By forcing migrants to wait in Mexican border towns for extended periods, the U.S. government created a dangerous environment. These areas are often controlled by criminal elements looking to exploit vulnerable individuals. It is estimated that tens of thousands of migrants have been victimized by cartels after being turned away by U.S. officials.

Furthermore, metering created perverse incentives that fueled corruption. Because the United States shifted the burden of managing waitlists onto Mexican officials, some of those individuals began selling access to American ports of entry. Instead of promoting the rule of law, the policy created a profitable market for criminals to extort money from people who were trying to follow the legal process.

Many migrants who were turned away and found the waitlist system impossible to navigate eventually gave up and crossed the border between ports of entry. They would then surrender to the U.S. Border Patrol. This resulted in a process that was significantly more chaotic than what would have occurred had they been processed at an official port of entry in the first place.