Dating back 200 years, there has been conflict on the United States-Mexico border. Various Acts and treaties have been put into place to slow the flow of immigrants across the border, such as the Boundary Treaty of 1970 or the Immigrations Act of 1924, which only allowed 2% of each nationality access to the United States. The most recent of these to be put in effect was Title 42. Enacted by President Donald Trump, it slowed the number of immigrants amid growing concerns of Covid-19. Issues were there when very few immigrants were allowed over, but even more may arise with an open border.
Now, with the border being much more lax with allowing immigrants, a long list of concerns are starting to pile up. Now that Title 42 has been lifted, Title 8 will go back into effect. Title 8 is a decades old section of US code. With this back in effect, immigrants who are found guilty of crossing the border without legal basis, could result in harsher penalties. According to an article on CNN titled, “Title 42 has expired. Here’s what happens next “..migrants apprehended under Title 8 authority may face a swift deportation process, known as ‘expedited removal’ – and a ban on re-entry for at least five years.”
This isn’t the only issue that comes up when talking about the current crisis at the border. Housing, overcrowding, and meals are all equally important. As of Friday, May 12, 2023, 23,400 migrants were in Border Custody. “US border communities declare disasters as Title 42’s expiration sets the stage for a migration rush” is the title of another CNN article that quotes the El Paso mayor, Oscar Leeser, as saying, “We can’t continue to do this for eternity.” Mayor Leeser is also speaking on behalf of other cities that are near the border. Victor Treviño, the Mayor of Laredo, Texas, told CNN, “We’re boarding up like there were a hurricane coming.” Treviño also said that this could have been completely avoidable had immigration reform been put in place decades ago. Small communities are now paying the price of a federal problem that could have been solved by one flick of the pen.
In a rebellious act, Arizona and Texas governors Doug Ducey and Greg Abott have been shipping migrants from their states up to liberally led cities, like Washington D.C and New York City. As of September of 2022, more than 230 buses, or almost 10,000 migrants were sent North. Only more of this could be predicted now that Title 42 has been lifted. Another blow came just Wednesday, May 3, when Abbott dropped off 50 migrants at Vice President Kamala Harris’s house, along with another 30 on Thursday morning. The Texas Tribune published, “Texas sends more buses with migrants to Washington, D.C., the day before Title 42 is set to end at the border.” In said article, Jayme Carver quoted Abbott as saying, “‘[Harris is] the border czar, and we felt that if she won’t come down to see the border, if President Biden will not come down and see the border, we will make sure they see it firsthand.’”
As someone who stays current with global news almost nightly, I see this as a serious issue. I chose to write about this topic because it highlights what is so wrong with the politics of America. Instead of coming up with new ideas on how to fix issues such as this, politicians look to place the blame on the other side, or push all the problems off of their plate. With President Biden all but refusing aid, it leads mayors and governors no choice but to come with their own ideas, albeit clever, it doesn't solve anything. I’ve been to impoverished countries such as Cuba, and also been to countries where there is civil unrest, like in Nicaragua. The conditions in those countries are dire, and Mexico is one in the same, as it has cartels that endanger the lives of civilians everyday. However, just opening a border and accepting immigrants isn’t the answer. It is similar to just sticking a bucket underneath a leak, even when you have the tools to fix it. You need to fix the source, or eventually the bucket with overflow. Mexico isn’t a safe place to be, and that’s why countries, like the U.S need to act on it, instead of playing political tag.
A solution to this mayhem could be resolved if the “Stay in Mexico” policy were to be reinstated. Contrary to how the name sounds, it does not ban the travel of immigrants across the border. Instead, migrants would have to submit an application for asylum but stay in Mexico until their court hearing. Then after, they could be brought into the United States as a resident. This would unclog the streets and the US would be able to deal with the influx of immigrants at a much calmer rate. Doing this could also slow the flow of drugs coming across the southern border. Cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin come across the border in waves everyday and this could be a “kill two birds with one stone” kind of situation. However, with every idea there will always be a side that disagrees. It could be hard to reinstate the policy as former Republican President Donald Trump put it into place. Now with a Democratically led White House and Senate, it will be more difficult for the policy to pass within the next few years. Some human rights activists have also voiced their concern on the policy. They believe that if they remain in Mexico for that time, even if short, their lives could be in much more danger. Right now, we’ll have to assess the situations and issues as they come up. For now, things aren’t terrible, however if the amount of people coming across the border continues to stay at the level it is now, we could have an international crisis.
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