Nina Lakhani reports to us today from Texas, asking if there is a crisis at the border?
After four years of racist, chaotic and anti-immigration policies from the Trump administration – in addition to the growing despair fueled by the pandemic and extreme weather events – the number of people looking to enter the United States is increasing.
But defenders of the Rio Grande Valley, where undocumented migrants have long been used to obtain cheap labor, reject the incendiary claims that the numbers are overwhelming.
“Migration goes up and down, that is the reality of the border. Biden has different values and gave people hope, but there is no border crisis, saying this is political manipulation, ”said Ramona Casas, director of the migrant advocacy group Arise. “We need to address the root causes and transform the failed immigration system, no longer militarization.”
The current increase started before Biden’s election, according to data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Jenn Budd, a former border patrol officer who became a whistleblower, said: “The only crisis on the border is children, with whom the government is trying to deal, anything else is simply not true and an attempt to play at politics, make Biden look bad and make sure the money keeps flowing into the border security industry. “
In 2000, a total of 9,212 border patrol officers arrested an average of almost 137,000 undocumented migrants per month on the southern border. In the fiscal year 2021 through February, the average was just over 76,000 per month, but the number of agents is more than double compared to 2000.
Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent state troops and the national guard to the border after alleging, without evidence, that illegal immigrants were spreading the coronavirus. Abbott’s unsubstantiated allegations came shortly after he announced plans to end the term of the state mask and ordered the companies to reopen at 100% capacity.
But undocumented or illegal migrants are not being released to the United States. The two groups that are allowed to enter are some existing asylum seekers, thanks to the repeal of Trump’s Stay in Mexico policy, and some newcomers who present themselves at legal ports of entry, including unaccompanied children and young families, who have been authorized to remain in the country pending hearings in the asylum court. In Texas, everyone keeps backing up, advocates say.
Read more about Nina Lakhani’s report here: Is there a crisis at the border?: A look at both sides of the immigration argument