More Texas cities declare state of emergency over border crisis as thousands stream into the US daily
Two further Texas cities have declared states of emergency over the border crisis as they become completely overrun with migrants.
Brownsville — the most eastern point of the southern land border with Mexico — issued a disaster declaration๊ after 15,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, crossed over to the US in a single week and overwhelmed border forces.
“ꦡWe’ve never seen these numbers before,” Brownsville Police Department Spokesman Martin Sandoval told .
Customs and Border Protection said usually they deal with less than 2,000 mig��r⛦ants attempting to cross at Brownsville per week.
The influx resulted in the Border Patrol sending migra꧒nts to its faciliಞties in Laredo, Texas to help out.
Laredo has also been helping to relieve pressure from El Paso, the top spot for migrant apprehensions in the country, but it has also now been overwhelmed and over the weekend declaꦯred a state of emergency.
“I do want to make the point that these are not migrants crossing in here in the Laredo border, but these are migrants being transferred here from other places, and to be processed here in Laredo,” Mayor Victor Trevino told the Border Report.
“Because of this, we don’t want to be faced with an overwhelming amount, and we’re not prepared.”
The surge in migrants is related to the end of Title 42 — the pandemic-era policy which allows US Border Patrol to send🍰 asylum-seekeܫrs from certain countries back to Mexico — on May 11.
Before migrants c✱an be ejected they have to be processed and recorded, which takes a few days and is causing huge problems for border patrol.
CBP has space to tem𒁃porarily hold 2,000 migrants in Laredo and is already nearing a 1,500 headcount.
If the capacity is reached, T💞revino migrants would have to be released onto the st♓reets of his city.
“We only have two Non Governmental Organizations, and that is the problem,” the mayor said.
“If the NGOs become overwhelmed, then we won’t have that place to put people, and there’ll wind up in the streets. So that is a thing that that we need to look out for.”
The two Border Patrol holding facilities in Brownsville used to detain and process migrant🎀s have also exceeded capacity, .
What is Title 42 and what does its end mean for US border immigration?
What is Title 42?
Title 42 is a federal health measure enforced by the US Border Patrol. It allows the agency to kick certain migrants out of the US and return them to Mexico. This includes asylum seekers, who 💙under international law have the legal right to make an asylum claim in America.
Currently, migr༒ants who cross the border illegally and who are from Cuba,ไ El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua or Venezuela are subject to Title 42 and could be sent to Mexico.
How did Title 42 start?
President Donald Trump invoked the law in 2020 aꦉt the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue the policy. The Trump administration made the case that keeping migrants out of the country would slow down the spread of infections and maintai𒉰n the safety of federal agents encountering migrants.
What has happened with Title 42 under Biden?
When Preside𒁏nt Biden took over, he continued to enforce Title 42 with one important change from his predecessor. Biden said Border Patrol agents were only allowed to expel migrants from certain countries under his direction❀. That meant migrants seeking asylum from countries like Cuba and Venezuela could still seek asylum if they arrived at the border and stay in the US while their cases were decided in court — unless they had a criminal record.
What is happening with Title 42 now?
Title 42 is supposed to be a health policy, not an immigration law. It will end at 11:59 ꧟p.m. May 11, when the Biden administration ends all COVID-19-related policies.
Why is it controversial?
Many have called for the policy’s end, saying it’♋s illegal and that international law guarantees people the right to seek asylum.
Others, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, warn that the southern border 🐟could see up to 13,000 migrants per day crossing wi✱th the intention to stay in the country when the measure ends.
What would the end of Title 42 mean for immigration into the US?
It’s unclear exactly how many people have been expelled under Title 42 becauseꦇ there have been scores of people who have attempted to enter the country numerous times and been rejected again and again, but the US Border Patrol said it made an at the border in the 🔯last fiscal year. Forty percent of people who were expelled from the country were ejected under the rules of Title 42.
“It’s quite concerning because the logistical challenge that we encounter is massive,” US Border Patrol Chief for Rio Grande Va𒅌lle🐻y Sector Gloria Chavez told the Border Report.
On April 29 an official said there were 20,500 migrant🦩s in CBP custody acrosꦓs the southern border, .
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El Paso, the sixth largest in Texas, also declareღ𝐆d an emergency over the migrant crisis this past weekend.
El Paso’s top elected official stated its emergency declaration was meant to keep migrants off the streets as shelters are already bursting at the seams.
Pictures obtained by The Post Tu💯esday showed that has not happened and migrants are camping out on the streets of the city.
The declaration will allow the city to open two larger emergency shelters and officials have warned it may soon start busing migrants out of town to relieve the pressure.
The American Red Cross is also headed toꦕ El Paso to ဣhelp with the migrants — as an outbreak of chicken pox and bed bugs has spread like wildfire among the hundreds who have been sleeping outside.
The city’s health authority urged locals not to panic, saying the general public was not at risk at this time as the measures were confined to specific areas.
“Some of these conditions might just be confined to these🌳 congregate settings and it’s not going to be spreading to the rest of the community,” Dr. Hector Ocaranza told .
“If෴ we detect any outbreaks out in the community in a specific location, then we will provide recommendations.”
On Tuesday, President Biden also committed 1,500 active-duty soldiers to help out with logistics at the border.
