DEL RIO, Texas — A U.S. official says the Biden administration is planning “massive movements” of Haitian migrants in a small Texas border town on flights to Haiti starting Sunday.

Plans have yet to be finalized, but officials are considering five to eight flights a day. San Antonio, the nearest major city, maybe one of the departure cities. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The flights represent a swift and dramatic response to thousands of Haitian migrants who have assembled under or around a bridge in Del Rio, Texas.

The U.S. has been expelling many Central Americans to Mexico under pandemic-related authority that denies migrants an opportunity to claim asylum. But Mexican authorities will not accept Haitians and other nationalities.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it has closed vehicle and pedestrian traffic in both directions on the Del Rio bridge.

Thousands of Haitian migrants had assembled under and around the bridge in the small Texas border town as chaos unfolded Friday and presented the Biden administration with a new challenge as it tries to manage large numbers of asylum-seekers who have been reaching the U.S. soil.

Haitians crossed the Rio Grande freely and in a steady stream, going back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico through knee-deep water with some parents carrying small children on their shoulders. Unable to buy supplies in the U.S., they returned briefly to Mexico for food and cardboard to settle, temporarily at least, under or near the bridge in Del Rio, a city of 35,000 that has been severely strained by migrant flows in recent months.

Migrants pitched tents and built makeshift shelters from giant reeds known as carrizo cane. Many bathed and washed clothes in the river.

The vast majority of the estimated 12,000 migrants at the bridge on Friday were Haitian, said Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens, who is the county’s top elected official and whose jurisdiction includes Del Rio. Some families have been under the bridge for as long as six days.

Trash piles were 10 feet (3.1 meters) wide and at least two women have given birth, including one who tested positive for COVID-19 after being taken to a hospital, Owens said.

Haitians have been migrating to the U.S. in large numbers from South America for several years, many of them having left the Caribbean nation after a devastating earthquake in 2010. After jobs dried up from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, many made the dangerous trek by foot, bus, and car to the U.S. border, including through the infamous Darien Gap, a Panamanian jungle.

It is unclear how such a large number amassed so quickly, though many Haitians have been assembling in camps on the Mexican side of the border, including in Tijuana, across from San Diego, to wait while deciding whether to attempt to enter the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration, acting on a Border Patrol request, restricted drone flights around the bridge until Sept. 30, generally barring operations at or below 1,000 feet (305 meters) unless for security or law enforcement purposes.

Some Haitians at the camp have lived in Mexican cities on the U.S. border for some time, moving often between them, while others arrived recently after being stuck near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, said Nicole Phillips, the legal director for advocacy group Haitian Bridge Alliance. A sense of desperation spread after the Biden administration ended its practice of admitting asylum-seeking migrants daily who were deemed especially vulnerable.

“People are panicking on how they seek refuge,” Phillips said.

Edgar Rodríguez, the lawyer for the Casa del Migrante migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, north of Del Rio, noticed an increase of Haitians in the area two or three weeks ago and believes that misinformation may have played a part. Migrants often make decisions on false rumors that policies are about to change and that enforcement policies vary by city.

U.S. authorities are being severely tested after President Joe Biden quickly dismantled Trump administration policies that Biden considered cruel or inhumane, most notably one requiring asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while waiting for U.S. immigration court hearings. Such migrants have been exposed to extreme violence in Mexico and faced extraordinary difficulty in finding attorneys.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month let stand a judge’s order to reinstate the policy, though Mexico must agree to its terms. The Justice Department said in a court filing this week that discussions with the Mexican government were ongoing.

A pandemic-related order to immediately expel migrants without giving them the opportunity to seek asylum that was introduced in March 2020 remains in effect, but unaccompanied children and many families have been exempt. During his first month in office, Biden chose to exempt children traveling alone on humanitarian grounds.

The U.S. government has been unable to expel many Central American families because Mexican authorities have largely refused to accept them in the state of Tamaulipas, which is across from Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. On Thursday, a federal judge in Washington blocked the administration from applying Title 42, as the pandemic-related authority is known, to any families.

Mexico has agreed to take expelled families only from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, creating an opening for Haitians and other nationalities because the U.S. lacks the resources to detain and quickly expel them on flights to their homelands.

In August, U.S. authorities stopped migrants nearly 209,000 times at the border, which was close to a 20-year high even though many of the stops involved repeat crossers because there are no legal consequences for being expelled under Title 42 authority.

People crossing in families were stopped 86,487 times in August, but fewer than one out of every five of those encounters resulted in expulsion under Title 42. The rest were processed under immigration laws, which typically means they were released with a court date or a notice to report to immigration authorities.

U.S. authorities stopped Haitians 7,580 times in August, a figure that has increased every month since August 2020, when they stopped only 55. There have also been major increases of Ecuadorians, Venezuelans, and other nationalities outside the traditional sending countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Immigration judges have decided more than 32,000 cases of Haitians seeking asylum since 2001, rejecting the petitions about 80% of the time, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1038482663/u-s-plans-to-deport-massive-number-of-haitians-from-del-rio-texas-an-official-sa

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The post Biden’s immigration policy is going to tear this country apart: Mark Brnovich first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The warnings come as the Biden administration moves to establish Ellis-Island-style rapid-processing hubs to release migrants into the U.S. within 72 hours.

Source: https://politicalwire.com/2021/03/05/democrats-warn-of-coming-crisis-at-the-border/

The post Democrats Warn of Coming Crisis at the Border first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President-elect Joe Biden has promised to put the coronavirus health crisis and economic recovery at the forefront of his agenda once in office. But his administration is also expected to address immigration — and to use executive orders to reverse many of outgoing President Donald Trump’s most controversial immigration policies.

The Biden administration has plans to restore the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and discontinue the use of Pentagon funds to build a wall at the southern border.

But will he go beyond rolling back the Trump administration’s policies, and commit to bringing about comprehensive immigration reform legislation, as he’s promised to do? And would Congress support this kind of immigration agenda?

“Joe Biden has to keep his promise if he wants to avoid being in the shadow of Barack Obama — of being called deporter-in-chief. I believe he will keep that promise,” said Paola Ramos, a journalist, and author who is the former deputy director of Hispanic media for the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign and a host for Vice News.

“It’s not only the politically right thing to do, or the moral right thing to do,” she said. “I think not doing anything can really cause Democrats a lot of harm in the long term.”

In a recent interview for Take Two’s immigration special, “The Invisible Wall,” host A Martinez spoke with Ramos and with Mike Madrid, a Sacramento-based Republican strategist and co-founder of the Lincoln Project, about what they think the political landscape looks like for immigration moving forward.

Here’s what they had to say. (Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.)

Given that the Biden-Harris team will need to put the pandemic and the economy at the forefront, what’s the argument for addressing immigration in the first 100 days? Why would it be important to do something? Or is it?

Paola Ramos: One of the critical reasons why Joe Biden will step into the White House in January is because of the way that immigrants and Latinos organized for him. For instance, we know that the reason why Maricopa County, Arizona flipped is because young Latinos organized for their parents — people that were deported under Joe Arpaio, people that were racially profiled under Joe Arpaio.

So it’s not only the politically right thing to do or the moral right thing to do. I think not doing anything can really cause Democrats a lot of harm in the long term. It can cause them the vote of confidence — a vote that if Joe Biden does not uphold his promise, as we saw with the Obama administration, can have pretty big and serious implications for Democrats in the long run.

(Note: Joe Arpaio is the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona who became known for his hardline tactics against undocumented immigrants. He lost his bid during the Republican primary earlier this year for his old position as Maricopa County sheriff.)

Mike Madrid: There’s both a moral element to addressing immigration, along with a political one. This has been a fight deferred for too many decades. It’s long overdue. The system is broken. Up until this point, I believe both sides sought partisan advantage, frankly, by not fixing it. We have to remember that both George W. Bush, who I helped get elected, and Barack Obama essentially chose not to push this and spend the political capital to get this done.

I believe the dynamics are much different now in this environment. I think with a very thin majority, Nancy Pelosi can probably work to get the Democratic votes together and I think Kevin McCarthy actually has some incentive to get this deal done, as does Mitch McConnell, I think. I think it’s really going to take the leadership of Joe Biden at this point. But it depends on whether the Democratic Party has other priorities as they did in 2008 or if they finally want to get this deal done. I believe they can if they forced the issue.

(Note: Immigrant advocates criticized President Obama over his administration’s handling of deportations and his failure to fulfill a campaign promise for immigration reform, particularly after the 2008 election when both the House and Senate were Democratic. )

We know that immigrating to the U.S. has never been easy. Policy problems long predated Donald Trump, which is why many presidents have talked about the need for reform. What can you tell us about the persistent problems that have led many to believe that our immigration system is fundamentally broken?

Ramos: In every story where I’m covering Latinos or immigrants, they remind me that this isn’t Trump’s problem. The wall isn’t Trump’s problem. The system isn’t his. It’s been this way for decades at this point. Let’s remember that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created [in 2002] and the very premise of it was the criminalization of others. Moreover, a couple of years ago it was the Obama administration who deported more than three million people. It was the Obama administration who built a lot of the detention facilities we have now.

I think one of the most important things the immigrant community is looking for is having a DHS secretary who understands that the system is fundamentally broken, that has an extensive background on immigration and that respects the United States’ humanitarian obligations. I think immigration advocates are looking to have the right person … that can recognize and say out loud that our immigration system is broken.

Madrid: Immigration reform is always very difficult to do, which is why it’s oftentimes a once in a generation event. We began this journey essentially with the 1965 INA (Immigration and Nationality Act). We didn’t get it done until 1986 with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, and we have not touched it since. It is politically fraught, but like I said, I do believe that the politics now allow for a win for both sides — if this is done right.

At the same time, I do believe Donald Trump and Trumpism is not going anywhere. I believe he will be catcalling from outside the system and probably threatening Republican members who dare to do the right thing to get this done. But I think that getting this done will actually help some Republican members. I think it will happen, but I may be pollyannish when it comes to this. I thought it would happen in 2000 and it didn’t. But again, I think the politics allow for it now. We saw a split vote in Arizona and the Rio Grande Valley, so because of the Latino diversification, I think both parties have an opportunity to get a real deal done.

We’ve been hearing from immigration attorneys and experts that many of President Trump’s policies can be reversed through executive order, but others might take more time. What would you say is the one policy Joe Biden needs to prioritize in his first 100 days?

Ramos: First of all, I’d say all of them, because a lot of them are really easy to roll back. A lot of the Trump agenda was based on executive orders, so doing rollbacks is something pretty simple Joe Biden can do. But if I had to focus on two, I would say he has to revive DACA. He has to reinstitute that. I also think he needs to restructure ICE’s enforcement priorities. He needs to ensure that we go back to Barack Obama’s enforcement priorities, which focused on going after folks with criminal records. I think that’s going to make a big difference. I think it’ll send the right message to the immigrant community.

Madrid: I genuinely think it’s a comprehensive problem at this point. There’s no tinkering around the edges. It has to be fixed from top to bottom, or you’re just kind of like putting Scotch tape around a plumbing problem under the sink. It may work for a little bit, but it’s ultimately going to burst out and I think that’s kind of where we’re at.

Mike, we’ve heard a lot about how the Trump administration took a protectionist attitude toward immigration. Do you think that is representative of a wider thinking among GOP members who are still in power in Congress ?

Madrid: I think that has become the dominant thought. When I was first working on this issue in the Bush administration in 2000, the pre 9/11 era, there was a very different school of thought with Republican leaders and frankly, even the rank-and-file voter has changed markedly. The party has become much more isolationist, much more protectionist and much more nativist. I think that is the dominant thought from top to bottom, from elected leadership down to the voter base. So there’s not a whole lot of voices like mine in the party anymore. I’m kind of a quasi-Republican at this point. But I also don’t believe I’m alone.

Paola, as a Democratic strategist, what do you think Joe Biden’s biggest challenge will be and how important are those Senate seats in Georgia to getting a consensus on immigration policies?

Ramos: Joe Biden has to keep his promise if he wants to avoid being in the shadow of Barack Obama — of being called deporter in chief. I believe he will keep that promise. I think that the role of Kamala Harris will be fundamental and important. Let’s not forget that the very first bill that she introduced was one focused on immigration. It was about giving immigrants access to counsel as they cross the border.

Even if Democrats lose Georgia, if Biden does what he does best, which is be an incredible negotiator, he can get immigration reform done. It will take prioritizing the issue and keeping his promise. I feel pretty confident because I think they know what the stakes are if they don’t.

Can the U.S. reconcile its relationship with the immigrant community both here and abroad?

Madrid: I don’t know that it can be reconciled, but it can write a new history going forward. This country, whether right or wrong, has a long history of doing that. I’m not sure that you’re ever going to get a nativist population … at least half of us —[to] go through a reconciliation process, but we can start something new going forward.

Ramos: I think communities are traumatized. Pain has been done. They feel betrayed. But I think Joe Biden did a very important thing during one of the debates, which is that he apologized and he’s centered immigration in the first 100 days, so I do feel optimistic that some of the damage can be undone.

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Source: https://laist.com/2020/11/23/take_two_immigration_special_invisible_wall_biden_administration_trump_policies.php

The post How Will A Biden Administration Tackle Immigration After Four Years Of Trump? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Azraq camp for Syrian refugees in northern Jordan. Photo: AFP / Ahmad Abdo

With the transition to a Joe Biden presidency finally beginning in the United States, it is now possible to contemplate what changes the new administration might bring. One area where things will be completely different is on refugee admission, a policy that will have a direct impact on the migration crisis in the Middle East.

Last month, President Donald Trump set the United States’ refugee quota for next year: just 15,000, although in reality, the new number will be 9,000, since it incorporates the refugee places from this year that couldn’t be used because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Biden campaign has pledged to raise the number to 125,000.

It will not be enough. Not for the 5.5 million Syrian refugees living in the Middle East. Indeed, even if Biden throws America’s doors open far wider, as morality and, indeed, given the industriousness of young migrants, self-interest would suggest, it won’t be enough.

The controversial truth is that most of Syria’s refugees will have to go home. Even saying that is likely to elicit a small gasp in polite company. But after nine years of war, a refugee crisis that has primarily strained Middle East countries, and a regime that has fought its way to some measure of stability, there is no other place for them. The status quo cannot hold.

That is because the real refugee crisis in the Middle East is hidden.

This week, shocking footage was circulated of French police breaking up a refugee protest in the center of Paris. Police grabbed tents, threw people on to the floor, and cast aside their possessions. The protest had been organized by a charity to highlight the hidden crisis in major cities; around 3,000 migrants are thought to be homeless in the French capital alone.

The same is true, on a far larger scale, in the cities of the Middle East. The majority of Syrian refugees worldwide are in just three countries: Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. It is the cities and towns of these countries that have borne the brunt of the Syrian crisis and it is in them that the crisis persists, hidden in plain sight.

And it is completely unsustainable. The Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East is now becoming to these countries what the 1990s sanctions were to Iraqis – a long, slow strangulation, far from the eyes of the world. One way or another, a solution will be found, regardless of who is in the White House, and regardless of whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ever relinquishes power.

The outside world appears to be burying its collective head in the sand. This month, the Syrian government held a two-day conference on the return of refugees to the country. The United States, Turkey, and the entire European Union refused to attend, with the EU declaring it “premature” and listing so many conditions that would need to be in place for refugee return that, in effect, their return could only take place without the Assad regime.

Yet the regime remains in power, and for the outside world to defer decisions until it no longer is, is to prolong the refugee crisis indefinitely. There is reason that the day after the refugee conference, the regime celebrated 50 years in power.

This is a resilient regime and it is not going anywhere, not for a while, not without a substantial change of policy focus or the use of force – neither of which a Biden presidency will deliver.

In truth, without a solution, one will emerge by proxy. It is not sustainable for Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey to host so many refugees indefinitely. A schism between them and the rest of the international community is inevitable.

Turkey, in particular, is so determined to find a solution that allows it to resettle refugees outside its borders that it may defy international laws and borders and create a mini “exo-statelet” between Turkey proper and Assad-controlled Syria. This plan for a so-called “safe zone” is in reality a plan to keep Syria’s Kurds from its borders and Syrian refugees beyond them.

But Turkey has not given it up – as recently as three weeks ago, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to send troops back across the border if Kurdish militant groups did not move back.

Refugees elsewhere, facing hunger, cold, and exile, face the same choice they faced in Syria: submit, or starve.

Eventually, some will decide to go back, perhaps hoping they will be spared imprisonment if they are not accused of political crimes or that the Assad regime will have forgotten about their family members among the opposition. These are horrendous choices and risks for vulnerable people to take, but without a comprehensive solution, they will become inevitable. Millions cannot indefinitely wait out their lives.

If Biden wants to help solve the Syrian refugee crisis, he will have to start abroad. Opening America’s doors is only part of the solution. The most realistic options involve finding ways to allow Syrians to return, without fear of the regime; the central issue is how to protect those who return.

One option would be to relocate refugees to areas where the regime is weak, such as the northeast, and where either US troops or Turkish troops can patrol. But that could prove unpopular with Syrian Kurds already concerned over their demographic balance.

The second is to use sanctions on Syria the way the sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program were meant to work, reducing in response to verifiable, positive steps. In the case of Syria, that would mean evidence the government has not systematically targeted returnees. That, again, could be difficult to police.

The only policy that is impossible to countenance is waiting. That is because two things now are certain: The vast majority of Syrian refugees have nowhere else to go, and the Assad regime is going nowhere.

A humanitarian solution for the former requires accepting the latter, however politically unpalatable to the US.

This article was provided by Syndication Bureau, which holds the copyright.

Faisal Al Yafai is currently writing a book on the Middle East and is a frequent commentator on international TV news networks. He has worked for news outlets such as The Guardian and the BBC and reported on the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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