Currents News Staff
Mass migration is landing at the U.S. doorstep. With conditions getting worse in their countries of origin, migrants are arriving in droves and arrive relieved as they cross the border.
In this part of the border, U.S. authorities arrest up to 1,000 migrants daily. The influx is an alarming trend made even more difficult by the nationalities of the people crossing the border.
Yuma border patrol chief Chris Clem described the situation as dynamic.
“We were having countries from Mexico, Central America, things that we could process and you know, take the biometric data and put them in removal proceedings and or return them back to Mexico,” said Chief Chris. “The countries were receiving now, those nationalities are flying in arriving to the border, and you know, they’re having to be processed and there’s just so many of them that it is posing a challenge to the workforce.”
Authorities can turn back migrants at the southwest border back to Mexico or their home countries under a Trump-era pandemic rule, known as Title 42, but it doesn’t apply to everyone.
Coupled with frosty relations with countries like Venezuela and Cuba, it keeps the U.S. from removing certain people. That means they might be released while going through immigration proceedings.
“We continue to evolve with technology and resources not only for our agents, but also for the overall mission, the form of surveillance systems,” said Chief Chris. “And then we continue to add to the processing and the humane care of the migrants in custody–wraparound medical services, food contracts to make sure that we’ve got plenty of food and to be able to take care of those in custody.”
The pace of people journeying north presents a steep challenge for President Biden who spoke with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador last week.
“One of those is migration at historic levels throughout our hemisphere like us,” said Biden. “Mexico has become a top destination of migrants.”