Uniformed officers monitor the southern border of the US, the uncertainty of migrants continues

At least four hundred members of the National Guard, together with state police and Border Patrol agents, guard the banks of the Rio Grande in the “Chihuahuita” area between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, in Mexico.

Meanwhile, on the southern border of the United States uncertainty continues, since it is unknown how long title 42, the health policy implemented in March 2020 to stop the entry of migrants, can remain in place. The decision is in the hands of the Supreme Court of Justice of the United States, a resolution that could be delayed until February.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has said that will strengthen border surveillance until there is a final decision on the regulations.

Many organizations, for their part, claim they no longer have space in their shelters since the flow of migrants does not stop. According to Rubí Tovar Rivera, from the Misión Rescate Shelter, the bookstore, the church and even the corridors had to be eliminated to increase the capacity.

“Especially with the weather conditions [bajas temperaturas] who have been, we don’t want people living on the streets,” he warned in statements to the voice of america. According to Tovar, the capacity of the place was exceeded and another warehouse was opened.

“Today we are moving many families there, men and women as well, and we are trying to give them the best we can with what we have,” he added.

uncertainty and disappointment

Meanwhile, migrants continue to seek refuge to protect themselves from the low temperatures that plague the region.

The Venezuelan Humberto Balboa assures that the place “is very tight” and that the situation “is difficult”.

Pedro de Velasco, from the Kino Border Initiative, assured in statements to VOA that “the environment is devastating”, since despite being hopeless due to previous experiences, they still had some hope.

De Velasco met with dozens of migrants in Nogales, in the Mexican state of Sonora, who were hoping to cross into the United States to join their families in the Christmas dates.

“Unfortunately we had to tell them that the Supreme Court had decided to pause this order that ended Title 42,” he added.

Pros and cons

Although an increase in migrants at the border is expected, the US government indicated that it is prepared to address that serious problem under its Title 8 even by adopting new policies to respond to what happens after Title 42 ends.

Juanita Molina, Director of Border Action assured the VOA that they saw “the reaction of the White House that is asking that Title 42 end”, but also “that they need time to prepare” and believe that a week is not enough to prepare for the changes.

The White House asked to the highest court to keep Title 42 in force at least until 11:59 p.m. on December 27 to prepare.

According to Andrew Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies, “It appears Title 42 will continue until at least 2 days after Christmas, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of foreign nationals from across the border from entering the United States illegally. ”.

Therefore, a massive arrival of people is expected in the coming days. As Arthur commented in an interview with the voice of america“10,000 to 20,000 a day for at least a while.”

Respect for the rule in question indicates that it is beneficial for some people to maintain it, while for others it cannot make much of a difference.

Doris Meissner, one of the directors of the Migration Policy Institute, indicated that “maintaining title 42 works in favor of some groups of migrants because if you are from Cuba or Nicaragua, for example, we cannot send you back to those countries and we cannot return to Mexico

The expert warns about the importance of knowing the law, since coyotes or human traffickers manipulate the information to maintain the business of crossing people to the United States without being affected by the legal ordinances of the country.

[Con la colaboración de Karen Sánchez, periodista de la VOA, desde Bogotá]

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