Uneasy calm in El Paso, Texas as Title 42 deadline looms

Thousands of migrants are rushing to the U.S.-Mexico border hours before Trump-era policies that allowed the swift removal of immigrants expire.

As the policy, known as Title 42, draws to a close, about 10,000 migrants are crossing about 2,000 miles (3,218 km) of borders each day, a record number nearly 2 from the average just two months ago. has doubled.

Ahead of the deadline, an uneasy calm descended on the border town of El Paso, Texas, and the makeshift immigrant camps on the city’s streets were largely removed.

Still, local authorities and humanitarian organizations are bracing for a difficult-to-manage influx of migrants that some fear.

The city’s mayor, Oscar Reeser, has warned that an estimated 10,000 migrants are in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across from El Paso, waiting for a chance to cross.

Around 60,000 people are believed to be waiting to cross the border along the southern border, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told the BBC’s US partner CBS.

“We stockpile food and supplies as much as we can,” said Nicole Roulet, marketing director for Rescue Mission El Paso, a local shelter that houses migrants. “No one knows what’s going to happen or what the numbers will be. That makes it difficult for us to be prepared.”

About 25,000 migrants were detained by Border Patrol agents on Thursday, far exceeding the agency’s capacity.

To reduce the overflow, authorities had directed migrants to be released and reported to immigration authorities within 60 days.

Several El Paso migrants told the BBC they rushed to the border ahead of the policy change, confused by rumors and disinformation, not knowing what the policy change would mean.

Among them are John Uzcategui from Venezuela and his 24-year-old girlfriend Esmaily, who booked an asylum application appointment using CBP One, an app run by Customs and Border Protection. He said he tried many times but failed and was frustrated.

They said they were told by smugglers and other immigrants (falsely) that they would be immediately deported if they showed up to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and encouraged them to illegally cross the barrier that separated El Paso from Mexico. rice field.

“We trusted them and started to enter the United States, but they were stopped by a roadblock,” said Uzcategi, whose asylum application was granted and was eventually released on parole in El Paso. “The agents said it was all a lie.”

“All the immigrants were talking about May 11,” he added. “But there were a lot of rumors. We knew something was changing.”

Other cities far from the border, such as Chicago and New York, also report struggling to cope with the flood of immigrants coming from the southern border.

With the enactment of Title 42, US officials were able to justify the pandemic and expedite the removal of cross-border immigrants (including asylum seekers) from Mexico.

About 2.8 million people have been deported under Title 42 since it went into effect in March 2020, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Ahead of the Title 42 expiration, U.S. officials have announced a number of new measures aimed at stemming the flow of immigrants, including the opening of regional processing centers in Latin America and expanded use of CBP One for bookings.

But many will face legal problems. According to Customs and Border Protection, illegal immigrants will be deported to their home country or Mexico, barred from re-entering the United States for at least five years, and “presumed ineligible for asylum.”

With Title 42, no such result occurred.

Border Patrol officer Raul Ortiz does not expect a “significant surge” in the near future, despite US President Joe warning earlier this week that the border would be “chaotic” for some time due to the effects of Title 42. said no.

“We’re really past the surge,” Ortiz said, according to the El Paso Times.

New measures taken by immigration officials and efforts to ease fears among locals have done little to reassure the many people who help immigrants in El Paso.

“This is going to be a huge challenge for us,” said Susan Goodell, chief executive of El Pasoan’s Hunger Fighting Food Bank. El Pasoans feeds hundreds of migrants every day on the streets of the city.

“We are doing everything we can to find the food we need to feed the people on the streets and in the shelters,” she said. “With the lifting of Title 42, we expect it will be a short time before large numbers of immigrants begin to flow into the community again.”

In the long term, the lifting of Title 42 is likely to become a controversial political issue in the United States. House Republicans, for example, are already considering a series of immigration bills that are unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the number of migrants arriving at U.S. borders has surged, in part due to economic hardship, security instability and political repression in countries such as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. bottom. A record 4.6 million people have been arrested for illegal crossings since the regime took office.

Decades have passed since the United States passed comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform.

(with additional reporting by Angelica Casas)