Just seven months into the Biden presidency, and new drone footage has revealed another dimension of the humanitarian crisis on our southern border.
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden committed himself to creating a “fair and humane” immigration system. His campaign website said that “we must do better to uphold our laws humanely and preserve the dignity of immigrant families, refugees, and asylum-seekers.”
To achieve this, the president reversed many of his predecessor’s asylum policies. And as a result, there has been a surge of migrants to our southern border.
Now, a new video has painted a picture of the humanitarian dimension of this border crisis. The Washington Examiner reported that drone footage showed a large group of migrants held under a bridge in Mission, Texas.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, who first published the footage, wrote, “This is the largest group of migrants we’ve ever seen being held by Border Patrol under Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, TX. Looks like it could be up to 1,000 people.”
Melugin is not the first journalist to report on the deplorable conditions migrants are being held in. In late March this year, the Washington Examiner found that a Border Patrol tent was forced to exceed capacity at 22 times over the legal limit.
The conditions migrants are facing in detention also raise concerns for public health, given the current COVID-19 pandemic. Photographs released by Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar show migrant children in overcrowded facilities. And recently, top Border Patrol union official Chris Cabrera admitted that agents have had to release migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 into the United States.
And before getting to the U.S., migrants are also likely to encounter the effects of increased border crime. Last Wednesday, Border Patrol agents apprehended two groups of migrants abandoned by their vehicle drivers. One day later, Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents intercepted a group of migrants being led by a human smuggler across the Rio Grande River.
The Biden administration has clearly fallen short on its immigration promises. Allowing human smuggling to continue does not “preserve the dignity” of migrants. And it is inhumane to endanger the health of migrants and American citizens by sending those who tested positive for COVID-19 into the country.
Instead of encouraging migrants to make this dangerous journey, Biden should look to the policies of his predecessor, such as implementing the “Remain in Mexico” policy and ending “catch and release.” These strategies successfully reduced the number of migrants encountered by Border Patrol. And this way, the Border Patrol’s facilities and resources will not be overwhelmed.
If the surge in border crime and reprehensible conditions in “reception centers” are any indication, the White House is failing to create a “fair and humane” immigration system.
