The Washington, D.C., and El Paso, Texas, Busing Campaign against the Biden Administration’s Immigration Restrictions
The state of emergency that Mayor Eric Adams declared will cost the city $1 billion, he told reporters on Friday.
Adams said that more people are arriving in New York City than there are spaces to accommodate them. “Once the asylum seekers from today’s buses are provided shelter, we would surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in our city’s shelter system.”
More than 18 million migrants have been bused to Washington D.C., the New York City, and Chicago by Texas, in the first week of October. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the program in April as part of his response to the Biden administration’s immigration policies, and acknowledged that taxpayers were likely to foot the bill.
“Once we finalize how we’re going to continue to live up to our legal and moral obligation, we’re going to announce it. Adams said that until then they were only letting people know how they were going to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis.
Abbott and others who favor increasing immigration restrictions argue that Biden administration policies have provided an incentive for more people to cross the border illegally. Some Republican candidates have pushed the narrative of a migrant invasion as midterm elections approach, pledging they’ll do more to crack down on illegal immigration.
The busing campaign has led to sparring between Abbott and Adams, whose administration has accused the governor of using human beings as political pawns and whose city has been long considered a sanctuary for migrants. The mayor wants the federal government to provide more resources. The White House said it is in touch with Adams and committed to FEMA funding and other support.
El PASO, Texas — With temperatures dropping and thousands of migrants still in the city, leaders in El Paso have been scrambling to open up emergency shelter beds as quickly as they can, but only some migrants qualify to stay.
El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, a Mexican City Filled With Refugees: The Case for the Migrant Crisis in the United States
The mother of three children, who are seven months pregnant, couldn’t help herself from watering her eyes as the social worker apologized for not giving her any money.
Like the border’s way of life, the continuous arrival of migrants is complex and palpable in El Paso as much as in Ciudad Juárez, its larger sister city in Mexico. On the north concrete banks of the Rio Grande, hundreds of people — many of them Nicaraguans — are lining up for hours, waiting to seek asylum in the US. The camp of migrants living in tents on the river’s south banks was dismantled last month by Mexican officials, but Venezuela is still waiting for the day it can do the same. The shelters of a lot of nonprofits and faith groups are quickly reaching capacity, and they’re scrambling to find another place to put them.
More than 2,500 people came to El Paso in the past week, officials said, and there is a chance that number will double after the policy is lifted.
“It’s something that we’re going to have to work with the UN and other countries to work through. It’s a situation that again, is bigger than El Paso, and now it’s become bigger than the United States,” he told reporters earlier this week.
A federal judge ordered the government to immediately end the policy by December 21 so this city, where officials and community organizations say they’re overwhelmed, will be in a tough spot.
The Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center is a nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants.
“It requires all of us to encourage our elected officials to do more and to really take a stance in this regard.” It’s not something that we can just turn away from, we don’t have that luxury. She said that people in the US need to know about this phenomenon.
CNN spoke with people on both sides of the US-Mexico border about the harsh realities that migrant families have experienced since fleeing poverty as well as drug and gang violence in their home countries, and the role that some locals play in the humanitarian crisis.
Many migrants that crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso and then were taken into custody by federal authorities have been sleeping on the streets for days. They’ve clustered near bus stations that are less than half a mile from where they got to US land.
Misael is waiting in front of the Greyhound station for the bus that will take him to Central Texas to be with his brother.
He traveled for more than two months from Peruvian to El Paso, but he can’t afford the bus ticket. He arrived at the US-Mexico border with no more than the clothes he was wearing.
“Traveling to Mexico was horrible, it’s an experience that I won’t be able to forget — something that marked me for life,” Aguilera said about being robbed, hearing about kidnappings and seeing people losing their lives.
Aguilera, who used to work as a clinical nurse specialist in his native Cuba, keeps himself busy by keeping the makeshift camp outside the downtown bus station somewhat organized and clean. As some people leave on buses, he and others collect the larger blankets some leave behind and save them for those who may arrive at any given time.
“We are trying to keep things tidy. Keep the space clean, and make sure that the trash is being picked up, so we can feel safe.
Diaz, her family and their sister’s family live in El Paso, a city where migrants have been released from Border Patrol custody
Others near the Greyhound station are Diaz, her family and her sister’s family. For a week, a group of 11 people, including adults and their toddler to teenage children, have been living in El Paso, unable to afford bus tickets.
Afraid of getting separated, they spent most nights on the streets after shelters wouldn’t accept all of them or denied them entry for not having arranged travel out of El Paso. There have been countless times when Diaz’s husband Carlos Pavón Flores, can only hold their daughter Esther in his arms, in silence. If nothing, he wants to keep her safe and warm.
Near the edge of downtown El Paso lies a convenience store and gas station that used to be quiet. Many migrants who have been released from Border Patrol custody are going to the building across the street from another bus station and two blocks away from the Greyhound station for food and water.
The first El Paso resident who is not a government official may be the young man who used to spend his days solely cleaning and restocking shelves.
Some ask him whether the store would exchange pesos for dollars, if they sell SIM cards so they can call their relatives, for access to a clean restroom or directions to a store where they can buy clothes. At times, the constant traffic could be hectic, Banda says, but he understands the precarious situation migrants are experiencing.
“I come from a modest background and my family has taught me to help in any way I can,” Banda said. “And they are very respectful people, very respectful. They are good people, even better than some locals.”
Arrival time for the arrival of migrants in Ciudad Juárez: a group of people waiting at a Mexican border crossing the El Paso homeless shelter
A group of people are outside on the sidewalk near a store. In the past two months, the number of people in the area has increased considerably, he says. Some have been there for more than a week while others have been there less than a day.
Because Banda often talks with his family about what his interactions are with migrants at the store, he says his mother has started collecting blankets to donate and talking with her employers and acquaintances about how they can also help.
staff members rushed to pick up forms and pens for the men after a white bus dropped them off at a shelter near downtown El Paso.
The facility is one of five homeless shelters that have been either at capacity or over capacity with the arrival of migrants, said John Martin, deputy director of the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, which runs the shelters.
Dozens of people working for nonprofits, religious groups, immigrant advocates and other groups are trying to help migrants as they approach their breaking point.
Migrants coming to the shelter don’t want to stay in El Paso, so the staff helps them arrange travel, according to Martin. While the shelter doesn’t cover the cost, it’s a process that involves many calls to relatives across the country, bus companies and airlines, and navigating language barriers.
I’ve got 50 that come in right behind them and we may get 30 in a day or two. We’re not going to be able to catch up at this rate.
With the number of migrants increasing, Martin thinks that they might have to make a decision that goes against the mission of the shelter.
The Opportunity Center is going to arrive somewhere in the next day or two, where there isn’t much space to deal with them. We’re going to have to say no.
Across the border in Ciudad Juárez, shelters have quickly reached capacity even as more and more facilities opened up in recent months. The shelters serve as a point of convergence between people who have been temporarily living in this border city for months after seeking asylum in the US and being expelled into Mexico, and those who reached the border in the past weeks and are waiting for the end of Title 42 expulsions.
Matamoros and her family lived at the Tierra de Oro church shelters for nearly six months. In Honduras, she had found success selling used plus-size clothing while her husband operated a car shop — but gang violence, extortion and threats made them fear for their and their children’s lives, the 28-year-old mother says.
Matamoros says she has gone through phases of desperation and shame of being in so much need, and hopes that they will soon be processed and vetted to enter the US with the support of a sponsor.
Matamoros says, “You ask yourself why you don’t cross and why other people do, why others have that chance and why there are people who waste their chances when there are people like us who are at risk.”
Emir Eduardo Sanchez Mendez’s migrant farm crossing near the border of El Paso: A story told by a friend in Juárez
Families who traveled from other parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Ukraine spent the morning at the shelter arranging chairs, hanging up Christmas lights, and cooking food for a posada, a Mexican Christmas tradition that includes the re-enacting of Joseph and Mary’s search for a room in Bethlehem. Matamoros says it will make her sons laugh and forget about their journey.
I want this to end soon. My children need a stable home where they can go to school, eat, and sleep in peace. I don’t want them to suffer anymore.
When Emir Eduardo Sanchez Mendez reached the south side of the Rio Grande banks, he put down a metal tray with doughnuts on the ground and took his socks off before picking up the tray again. In a matter of seconds, he managed to dip his feet in the freezing water and step on a series of rocks that led him to US land without dropping the tray.
He’s repeated this ordeal dozens of times a day, carrying pizza boxes, packs of water bottles and more knowing he can’t go further into the US because of his nationality.
The 30-year-old Venezuelan has been selling food and water to the migrants lining up close to the border wall in El Paso. Venezuelans had been previously exempt from Title 42, but the Biden administration started applying it to them in October.
“It is our turn to simply wait and see what happens with us.” In the meantime, we work on this side of the border to survive,” said Sanchez Mendez, who has been in Juárez for about a week waiting for the end of Title 42.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/12/us/el-paso-crossings-migrant-stories-reaj-cnnphotos/
El Paso, Texas, border city response to a “crime against the government” by the Mexican migrant population and President Biden
He wanders aimlessly through the line of people while trying to sell the bottles of water he bought with his friends. It’s a way of making some money or as some people in Venezuela say, “buscar la moneda to eat”, and then go on their journey up North.
As a growing number of migrants arrive in the border city of El Paso, Texas, officials there say the situation is “unsustainable” and could intensify into a full-blown crisis.
Many of the arriving migrants told reporters they’re from the Central American country. Some have said they were victims of kidnapping before making it to the border.
The need for homeless people in El Paso is greater than any of the things we’ve seen in the 25 years that I’ve been running the shelter.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. … We were not built for this type of a situation,” Barrow told CNN. We’re doing everything we can because we have so many people in need.
In the past, there have been spikes of migrants crossing the border but Mario D’Agostino says the situation is different now.
The increases in migrant populations crossing the border were gradual before, he said. He said that it has been rapid over the past few days.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has more agents in the area because criminal organizations are behind the influx.
A show of force by National Guard units, including military vehicles, and members of the Texas Department of Public Safety left some local officials frustrated. The Texas National Guard announced on Monday that it had deployed assets from the 136th Airlift Wing in Fort Worth to ferry soldiers and equipment to the border.
“I do not want these initiatives to turn into policing simply because of political overtures or political opportunities,” said Ricardo Samaniego, the El Paso county judge. He said that it was unclear how long the group would remain at the border after he was told the show of force was a training exercise.
The administration’s difficulty in making good on President Biden’s promise about border policies that are both humane and secure was highlighted by the debate over the use of Title 42 restrictions. As officials have struggled to respond to historic levels of migration, they have at times been criticized by immigration advocates for relying too heavily on Trump-era policies.
Republicans are accusing Mr. Biden and his team of being too easy at the border. The House Republicans intend to investigate and impeach Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security.
El Paso Migrants Freezing Temperatures and Shelters Title 42 Under Title 42: “We didn’t Want to Go Back to Mexico”
“We’re not permitted inside the shelter because we crossed without permission,” said a woman named Adda. We aren’t using her last name or other migrants who entered the US without detection. Adda traveled to El Paso with seven family members including her daughter who is pregnant.
The deputy city manager of El Paso wanted to make sure everyone was out of the streets before the cold weather hit.
“We are sending buses out to their location to pick up people and bring them over to the convention center so we can free up the space,” D’Agostino said.
On Thursday, the sidewalks near the Greyhound bus station were still lined with blankets and makeshift bedding as dozens of migrants tried to keep warm at night.
El Paso police officers on bicycle patrol encouraged migrants to relocate to the emergency shelter a block away in the city-owned convention center. But many of the migrants who were still on the street had not turned themselves into the Border Patrol.
But in practice, those restrictions have been applied unevenly — in large part because Mexico has refused to take back migrants from certain countries, including Cuba and Nicaragua. Until recently, Venezuelan migrants were also exempt — but now they too can be expelled to Mexico under Title 42.
“We didn’t turn ourselves into the Border Patrol because we didn’t want to go back to Mexico”, said a woman named Gabriela. The couple entered with their four young children this week.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/23/1145185628/el-paso-migrants-freezing-temperatures-shelters-title-42
The Devastating Journey of Two Migrants to El Paso, a Keystone for a New Mexico-United States Border Policy
She described how they arrived in Venezuela and were separated for a time from one another in the dangerous jungle of Panama.
Mexico was the most difficult part of their two-month journey. The family said Mexican border authorities harassed them, detained them for three days, and stole their personal belongings. They said they witnessed children being kidnapped off the streets. The family continued their journey for added protection.
Three days after arriving in Juarez, the group arrived at the northern bank of the Rio Grande. They were able to see the troops come out of the parade with their weapons. Wilfor, the cook who was part of the group, said the sight was unnerving.
The group crossed Tuesday night despite the rumor. They picked a spot that involved traversing an irrigation canal known for migrant drownings. They crawled through a hole snipped into a chain-link fence and then sprinted across six lanes of highway where the speed limit was 60 miles per hour.
El Paso is in the midst of a declared state of emergency over thousands of migrants living in unsafe conditions, as a Trump-era border policy keeping migrants out of the US remains in flux amid court proceedings.
She says the city needs to follow state and federal policies that require documentation in order to be accepted into a shelter.
She said that if migrants show up at government sites, they will be connected to Customs and Border Protection to start the process of turning themselves in.
Three men who did not want to be identified told CNN that they have been kicked out of the US several times in recent weeks and that they no longer wish to turn themselves into border authorities because they have been refused entry many times. The men say they were undetected by border agents, despite crossing the Rio Grande.
“Extremely cold, below freezing temperatures are expected along the Mexico and United States border during the next several days,” Hugo Carmona, Acting Associate Chief of US Border Patrol Operations, said in a video statement. Do not put your life in danger by trying to cross the river or desert. Stay at home, or remain in a shelter, if you can to avoid tragedy and death. This is a warning of extreme importance.”
Immigration and Refugee Services at the OHC: Comment on Martin’s “Convention Center for the Homeless” [J. P. Martin, J. D’Agostino, Washington, October 24, 2006]
John Martin, the deputy director of the Opportunity Centre for the Homeless, told CNN that he requested the city’s emergency department to open the convention center to migrants who were in the US illegally but that it was unsuccessful.
At nearby Sacred Heart Church, officials said their normal capacity is 130 but are expanding to 200 for the next four nights and are prioritizing women and children, they said. Hundreds of people continue to wait outside the church.
D’Agostino said that there was a moderate-sized airport and a couple of smaller bus terminals, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with holiday traffic.