Refugees at the US border: “It’s about sheer survival”

Thousands of people are waiting for entry at the US-Mexico border. The expiry of a controversial deportation regulation has now been stopped for the time being. But that doesn’t solve the problem.

It is one of the dominant topics in the US media – Thousands of migrants are waiting on the banks of the border river Rio Grande to enter the USA. A reporter from CBS is reporting from the US border town of El Paso, where many refugees who have made it to the US are sleeping outdoors and shelters are overcrowded. It is a dangerous situation for the refugees with temperatures around freezing, the reporter said.

TV images show border guards installing barbed wire on the Rio Grande to stop people. Border towns like El Paso are completely overwhelmed with the care of the refugees.

Mayor declares a state of emergency

Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency: “I said from the start that if the asylum seekers or our community are no longer safe, I will declare a state of emergency. Hundreds of asylum seekers are now sleeping on the streets here.”

According to the mayor, up to 2,500 people come to El Paso every day. And his fear: It could be up to 6000 a day if the Controversial deportation rule that allows US authorities, with few exceptions, to turn migrants away at the border without due process is coming to an end.

Supreme Court halted expiration of deportation rule

The regulation was introduced under Donald Trump with reference to the corona pandemic – and continued by Joe Biden. The Supreme Court has put the exit on hold, but if the deportation rule is actually abolished, more people would try to come into the country, Texas Gov. Republican Greg Abbott warned on ABC News. The situation is becoming catastrophic, not just for Texas, but for the entire United States.

Both Republicans and Democrats are using the situation to blame each other. The topic is emotionally charged. The far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson spoke of an invasion of the country. The US would no longer have a border.

“The government has rested”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is threatened with impeachment by Republicans, stressed that immigrants who do not have the right to stay in the United States would continue to be deported.

US government security adviser Jake Sullivan said the government was preparing intensively for the expiry of the deportation scheme. “The team has worked very hard to ensure that we can manage the end of the current rule. And that we create an orderly and humane process. We believe that by doing this we can protect our national security concerns.”, so Sullivan.

But it’s not just Republicans who say the government is unprepared for the situation. Andrew Selee of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington said: “The government has been resting on the entry regulations due to Corona. They are not prepared for the situation even though they knew it was coming.”

US government plans to provide $3.5 billion

President Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, explained that 23,000 officers are deployed at the border – more than ever before. And the government plans to allocate an additional $3.5 billion to meet the challenges.

But that’s not helping border towns like El Paso right now. The broadcaster CNN repeatedly shows pictures of volunteers distributing clothing and blankets to freezing refugees – Sandra Grace Martinez is one of the helpers. For the people, she says, it’s about sheer survival.