Peter Aitken
Fox NewsMon, 15 Mar 2021 13:45 UTC
Fox News has exclusively obtained two photos showing a U.S. Border Patrol temporary outdoor processing site in Mission, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Mexico continues to struggle with the sharply rising number of migrants turned away at the U.S. southern border, with many claiming they were "promised" by President Biden that they could enter the country.
The increased focus on the border situation has brought journalists to Texas, where the problem is most severe: Migrant camps litter the border, with camps of dozens or hundreds of people who are either waiting to enter the U.S. or were just turned back.New York Times reporters witnessed a number of incidents where migrants were turned away from the border. Most were in tears, with some saying, "Biden promised us!" as they returned to Mexico.
"Biden promised us that everything was going to change," Gladys Oneida Pérez Cruz, a woman traveling with her son, told the Times. "He hasn't done it yet, but he is going to be a good president for migrants."Cruz paid $9,000 to a coyote for her trip.Another migrant, Jettner, believed that his life would "change 180 degrees" because he was about to walk across the border, but he was also immediately turned around.The combination of the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters - including multiple hurricanes and earthquakes across Central America - has driven people from their homes in hopes of entering the U.S.
Fox News has exclusively obtained two photos showing a U.S. Border Patrol temporary outdoor processing site in Mission, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Coyotes - human smugglers - have preyed on that desperation and taken advantage of migrants, offering them promises of entering the country under Biden's presidency.
Customs and Border Protection officers have encountered over 100,000 migrants at the border in February alone, highlighting how overwhelming the situation has become.The vast majority of migrants - around 70%, according to one source - are expelled via public health order Title 42 that allows authorities to quickly return migrants to their country of travel.Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said on a call with reporters that the administration is "moving as fast as we can" to rebuild the immigration system but warned, "this is going to take time."
"The border is not open — do not believe human smugglers who tell you otherwise," he said.But coyotes and cartel alike continue to promise migrants that the U.S. is open under Biden, seizing on the more immigrant-friendly policy changes the president has already undertaken.
The administration has already ended the Migrant Protection Protocols, which kept migrants south of the border while waiting for their hearings, and narrowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's priorities for arrests and deportations.
Comment: More
from Just the News:
Lawmakers press Biden admin. to explain why COVID positive migrants were transferred into US
Members of Congress from North Carolina are pressing the Biden Administration for answers regarding COVID positive migrants who were transferred from the border into Texas and North Carolina during the pandemic.
According to recent media reports, a significant portion of the COVID positive asylum seekers were transferred into the interior of the U.S. from Mexico due to President Biden's repeal of former President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy, which required asylum seekers to stay inside of Mexico while awaiting their immigration court hearings. About 25,000 migrants are expected to be transferred in phases as a result of Biden's executive order ending the "Remain in Mexico" policy.
The other migrants had been transferred into the U.S. to await their hearings after they were apprehended crossing into the U.S. at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"The recent surge of migrants can be directly attributed to the Biden Administration's recent decisions to halt the Migrant Protection Protocols program, suspend border wall system construction, weaken immigration enforcement, and implement 'catch and release' at the border," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday. "These divisive policies rolled back President Trump's successful efforts to control our border. Simply put, these policies are reckless and are putting our constituents in danger."
The Republican lawmakers said there has been "no explanation to justify" releasing COVID-positive migrants into U.S. communities during the pandemic.
"This Administration's border security policies are creating devastating consequences that will set us back in the fight against COVID-19. Caseloads in North Carolina have fallen steadily since the new year, and the positivity rate recently fell to 5.8% - the lowest level since October 2020," the letter read.
"Our state is in a strong position to get our people back to work and end lockdown policies that harm families. Unfortunately, the Administration's decision to send COVID-positive illegal immigrants into North Carolina puts our state's recovery at risk and violates President Biden's pledge to beat the virus. Our constituents deserve to be put first, not last," the lawmakers wrote.
The letter was signed by N.C. Republican lawmakers including Dan Bishop, Richard Hudson, Virginia Foxx, Patrick McHenry, David Rouzer, Ted Budd, Greg Murphy and Madison Cawthorn.
Another lesson learned ...