Nina Lakhani reports for us today from Texas, asking if there is a crisis at the border?
After four years of racist, chaotic anti-immigration policies by the Trump administration – and the growing desperation fueled by the pandemic and extreme climate events – the number of people trying to enter the US is on the rise.
But advocates in the Rio Grande Valley, where undocumented migrants have long been relied on for cheap agricultural labor, reject the incendiary claims that the numbers are overwhelming.
“Migration goes up and down, that’s the reality of the border. Biden has different values and has given people hope, but there is no border crisis, say political manipulation, ”says Ramona Casas, director of the migrant group Arise. “We need to address root causes and transform the broken immigration system, not more militarization.”
The current upswing started before Biden’s election, according to figures from Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Jenn Budd, a former senior border police officer turned whistleblower, said: “The only crisis on the border is the children, which the government is trying to deal with, everything else is just not true and an attempt to play politics is letting go. Biden look bad and keep the money flowing into the border security sector. “
In 2000, a total of 9,212 border guards detained an average of nearly 137,000 undocumented migrants per month at the southern border. In the fiscal year 2021 to February, the average was just over 76,000 per month, but the number of agents has more than doubled from 2000.
Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent state troops and the National Guard to the border after claiming without evidence that illegal immigrants were spreading the coronavirus. Abbott’s baseless Covid claims came shortly after he announced plans to end the state mask’s mandate and ordered companies to reopen at 100% capacity.
But illegal or undocumented migrants are not released in the US. The two groups to be admitted are some existing asylum seekers, thanks to the repeal of Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy, and some newcomers applying to legal gateways, including unaccompanied children and young families, who are allowed to remain in the country. suspended sessions of the asylum court. In Texas everyone is still being turned back, lawyers say.
Read more of Nina Lakhani’s report here: Is there a crisis at the border ?: A look at both sides of the immigration argument