The passage of the pandemic through the United StatesIn recent days, the image of a person throwing two children from the top of the U.S.-Mexico border fence has spread in the media. They were abandoned to their fate. They are just two of the thousands of minors who arrive in U.S. territory undocumented and unaccompanied.
A drastic increase
Since the beginning of President J. Biden's administration, there has been a very dramatic increase in the number of people trying to come to the U.S. without the necessary documents. The largest group is unaccompanied minors. Their parents probably paid thousands of dollars to a "coyote" (human smuggler) to take them with other family members into U.S. territory. Some arrive at the border, where they are abandoned to their fate or left with adults they do not know. This is the plight of unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border. There were almost 19,000 in the month of March alone.
DATO
172.000undocumented immigrants were intercepted in March.
In recent weeks, undocumented immigration in the U.S. has reached levels not seen in twenty years, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As of March, 172,000 people had been intercepted and detained, an increase of more than 71% over the previous month. The majority of these individuals are adults from Mexico and Central America, fleeing violence, poverty, lack of opportunity and natural disasters in their home countries.
Turn of political discourse
This increase in undocumented crossings has many causes, one of them being the new immigration approach of President Biden, who changed the anti-immigration and nativist discourse of Donald Trump for a policy with a "humanitarian spirit". The radical change in the political discourse generated the impression that the new administration was granting possibilities to migrate.
A good part of the people intercepted at the border without documents are deported (103,900 in March 2021); however, unaccompanied children, by law, cannot be expelled, but must remain in custody until they find relatives or are transferred to specialized child care units. This is a slow bureaucratic process.
An overflow
The drastic increase in these cases has caused an overflow in the capacity of the temporary detention centers at the border. There is an overcrowding of available places. This problem is compounded by the pandemic and the health protocols that must be taken, which further reduces available space. As of mid-March 2021, CBP housed 4,200 children between the ages of 7 and 13 in its temporary detention centers. Other minors are housed in Catholic Charities shelters or other specialized centers in agreement with the authorities.
DATO
4.200children between the ages of 7 and 13 have been housed in CBP centers in the month of March alone.
To address this crisis, the U.S. federal government has been working with border state authorities to expand the capacity of reception centers and open temporary shelters. It is also working with the Mexican government. President Biden appointed former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson as Southern Border Coordinator. And although the official, a career diplomat, will only remain in that position until the end of April, she has undertaken a series of actions to alleviate the crisis, including a visit to Mexico to dialogue with her counterparts and seek solutions to the immigration problem. She was very clear.
"Don't make the trip."
In a March 23 message Jacobson told those intending to migrate irregularly: "Do not come to the border. The border is closed. People who attempt to travel to the United States irregularly risk becoming victims of crime and human trafficking. It is a dangerous journey. I know many may be enduring pain and hardship, but I must emphasize that the U.S. border is closed. Do not make the journey.
A few weeks later, on April 7, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris held a virtual conversation with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, they discussed measures to address the migration phenomenon in order to promote safe, orderly and legal migration. They also discussed economic cooperation projects for southern Mexico and Central America. Both governments agreed on the urgency of implementing emergency humanitarian aid programs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in order to prevent the emigration of nationals from those countries to the North.
Bishops alert
Faced with this humanitarian crisis, the Mexican and U.S. bishops of the border dioceses expressed their concern about the events and called for solutions that preserve life and provide safe and orderly immigration. The prelates of both nations urged political leaders and civil society to work together to welcome and integrate immigrants while respecting their dignity and preserving family unity.
"We ask that special attention be given to particularly vulnerable populations, such as children. We strongly urge that structures be put in place and reforms in our laws to promote a welcoming culture for migrants, while respecting sovereignty and security in our countries. We pledge our continued support for the efforts of our respective governments to protect and care for families, as well as individuals, who feel compelled to migrate. To accomplish this, we commit ourselves to the ongoing work of Catholic organizations on the border and in other places that are generously served by lay, consecrated and clergy."
We strongly urge the implementation of structures and reforms in our laws to promote a welcoming culture for migrants.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A fundamental problem
The border problem and its dramas will not be resolved in a few weeks. In the meantime, we will continue to witness tragic images of children abandoned at the border. The U.S. immigration system stopped working decades ago. It can be temporarily contained and alleviated with the help of both governments, civil and religious associations. It is not a matter of walls, nor of shelters, nor of successful bilateral meetings. It is a fundamental problem that has to do with the identity, the past and the future of the United States as a country. Solving it requires economic and political capital that no party or civic leader is willing to pay for at this time.
