Nina Lakhani informs us today from Texas, asking us is there a border crisis?
After four years of racist, chaotic and anti-immigration policies by the Trump administration, in addition to growing despair fueled by the pandemic and extreme weather events, the number of people wanting to enter the United States is rising.
But proponents of the Rio Grande Valley, where undocumented immigrants have long relied on cheap labor, dismiss incendiary claims that the figures are overwhelming.
“Migration goes up and down, this is the reality of the border. Biden has different values and has given hope to the people, but there is no border crisis, to put it bluntly, ”said Ramona Casas, director of the Arise migrant advocacy group. “We need to address the root causes and transform the broken immigration system, not more militarization.”
The current upturn began before the Biden election, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures.
Jenn Budd, a former border patrol officer turned complainant, said: “The only crisis on the border is children, which the administration is trying to deal with, anything else is just not true and an attempt to play politics makes Biden look bad and make sure money flows to the border security industry. “
In 2000, a total of 9,212 border patrol officers detained an average of about 137,000 undocumented migrants a month at the southern border. In fiscal year 2021 through February, the average was just over 76,000 a month, but the number of agents is more than double compared to 2000.
Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed state soldiers and the National Guard to the border after claiming, without evidence, that illegal immigrants were spreading the coronavirus. Abbott’s uncredited Covid claims came shortly after he announced plans to end the state’s mask mandate and ordered the companies to reopen at 100% capacity.
But illegal or undocumented migrants are not released in the US. The two groups allowed to enter are some of the existing asylum seekers, thanks to the repeal of Trump’s Remain policy in Mexico, and some newcomers presenting at legal ports of entry, including unaccompanied children and young families, who have been allowed to remain in the country. pending court hearing. In Texas, everyone else continues to retreat, advocates say.
Read more of Nina Lakhani’s report here: Is there a border crisis ?: A look at both sides of the immigration argument