Cartels are far worse than COVID for migrants
There was a lot of news about President Joe Biden taking steps toward ending Donald Trump’s Migration Protection Protocol, also known as the Remain in Mexico program where largely Central American asylum seekers were forced to stay in Mexico until an often hypothetical future asylum hearing. While this is a positive step longterm, right now it seems little has changed for most immigrants waiting at the border. Most are still being denied a chance to go through the asylum process in the name of stopping the spread of COVID-19. This policy started under the Trump administration is called Title 42. I know everyone would agree that stopping COVID-19 is important, but this has ended up endangering migrants’ lives and greatly benefited the cartels who will take individuals over illegally. If any migrant tries to cross illegally without paying the cartels, they could pay the ultimate price.
Many asylum seekers have been waiting months or even over a year in the camps at our southern border. They are forced to stay in these very hostile and dangerous situations. I have seen these conditions firsthand. On top of that, new migrants are arriving who are also being forced to remain in Mexico as well. This is creating a serious humanitarian crisis especially given the attitudes of many in the Mexican government.
Fortunately, for those who are able to cross illegally the treatment is much better by the Biden administration than it was under the Trump administration overall. Many migrants are now eligible to be quickly released to their families or sponsors until they can attend their court date. This is the right direction, but it simultaneously sets up a dangerous incentive — the only way to get into the U.S. and go through the process is to go through the cartels because the official entry points are blocked. This policy enriches some of the groups that are the worst actors in our hemisphere. I sympathize with those migrants
who choose to go this route and pay the cartels due to the desperation they feel. It is not their moral failing, but rather it is ours by giving them no other choice.
In the end, Title 42 fails to even satisfy the stated goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19. Groups of asylum seekers are forced to stay for long periods together on the border or travel in large groups together with the cartels and are thus more likely to catch COVID-19 and spread it. The greater danger for the migrants are bad actors in Mexico.
These migrants are often sitting ducks for cartels who could kidnap them, rape them or take advantage of them in other ways. It is also dangerous as some without the financial means to pay the cartels try to cross without paying the extortion fees, risking their lives. We just saw last week that a dozen police officers in Mexico were charged for their responsibility in the deaths of a group of Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants. The situation is not sustainable.
It is time that the Biden administration figures out a way to allow people to legally cross the border while still testing them for COVID-19 and taking needed precautions. Let’s be honest, COVID-19 is in every town in our nation.
Restricting migrants in desperate situations from being able to seek asylum is not going to make a dent in our COVID-19 numbers. Though Trump began this policy, it is now Biden’s immigration policy. I realize that Trump left him an utter mess, but it is time that it is quickly resolved so that we do not have an even greater human rights tragedy on our hands. It is time to open back up the border for those seeking asylum.