Biden administration faces pressure to stem flow as influx of migrants overwhelms US southern border cities

EAGLE PASS, Texas: In a shallow part of the Rio Grande river separating Mexico and the United States, a large group of migrants wade carefully in waist-deep waters against swift currents towards the Texan border city of Eagle Pass. 

Many are travelling with young children, some only a few months old. 

As they reach the US side of the river, one final hurdle stands between them and American soil – coils of dense, sharp, double-edged razor wire.

Those at the front throw blankets, sweaters, bags – anything that will offer protection – over a section of the wires as they navigate across. 

A young man, the first to cross over safely, shouts in triumph and waves at others to follow suit. 

A chaotic scramble ensues as young children are hoisted over, or in some cases, yanked across. It is a mad dash to get as many people through as quickly as possible.

Once safely on US soil, emotions break free as they release the weight of weeks on the road and persevering through dangerous situations. The migrants, who are mostly from Venezuela, hug and sob, relieved that their journey is over – for now. 

“It was hard. A lot of pain. We suffered from hunger and thirst, walking perhaps hundreds of kilometres,” one migrant told CNA.

SCENES AT THE US SOUTHERN BORDER

Scenes like this are unfolding day and night along the length of the US southern border.

At times, border agents are even cutting the razor fence to let migrants pass through safely.

“If they start getting swept away by the currents (in the Rio Grande), if they start succumbing to the environment, and my men and women see that, they are not going to let somebody die or get into harm's way,” said US Border Patrol chief Jason Owens.

Immigration officials said they processed more than 200,000 migrants in September, the highest number in almost a year.

It is a stark reversal from the drop in illegal crossings after a pandemic-era policy allowing border agents to expel migrants was lifted in May. 

It was replaced by a new – some say harsher – alternative that requires migrants to book an asylum interview using a government app before entering the US. 

If they do not, they are turned back and can be banned from entering for five years.

MIGRANTS FROM VENEZUELA

Some migrants who spoke to CNA, however, said that the app is full of glitches and appointments are very limited.

"I have been travelling for three months. I was waiting for the appointment but I never got it. I couldn't take it anymore, so I had to do this,” migrant Leidy Medina said, breaking down, after crossing illegally into Texas. 

Ms Medina is part of a mass exodus from once oil-rich Venezuela. 

She leaves behind a country in political turmoil and an economy in perpetual tatters. Unemployment is high, inflation is soaring, and simple necessities like food and safe drinking water are out of reach for many.

According to United Nations data, 7.7 million people have fled the nation since 2015, with the vast majority crossing over to neighbouring Latin American and Caribbean countries.

But with opportunities limited even in these countries, many are making the perilous journey north to the US southern border. Visa requirements mean that many Venezuelans cannot take a flight to the US. Instead, they have to resort to exhausting land routes, moving on foot, and via bus, train and car.

More than 110,000 Venezuelans have arrived in the US so far this year. 

Some have been deported, but many have been released into the US with their cases pending, sparking what experts say is a wave of chain migration from other hopefuls.

Also instilling hope in potential migrants are policy changes from the White House. 

In September, the Biden Administration – under intense pressure from Democrats – said it would allow nearly 500,000 Venezuelan migrants already in the US to work and live legally for 18 months.

Allowing them to work could help relieve the strain Democratic cities like New York and Chicago are under to house and feed the tens of thousands of migrants bused north by Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

BORDER CITIES AT BREAKING POINT

Many border cities are now at a breaking point over the sheer number of migrants passing through. 

Ms Valeria Wheeler, executive director at non-profit organisation Mission: Border Hope, runs the only migrant shelter in Eagle Pass. It just moved into a bigger space, but is already over capacity.

“Our capacity depends on how many people leave. So we are ready to process, support and feed up to 1,000 people a day,” she said.

She believes the only solution is to address the root causes of migration – violence, poverty and corruption – so people do not feel compelled to leave in the first place.

The Biden administration said it is trying to boost economic opportunities in southern Mexico and northern Central America, supporting 50,000 students, farmers and others with jobs, training and access to capital. 

However, experts said that overall, the US lacks a solid policy toward Latin America and has been too narrowly focused on containing immigration.

“We threw our hands up in the air and we said Latin America and the Caribbean are a continent in trouble, we’re not going to intervene,” said director of the Center for the US and Mexico at Rice University Tony Payan. 

“If we do not address the problems at the root – and I do think the US can offer quite a bit of leadership on that – we’re going to continue to see hundreds of thousands leave every single month.”

US President Joe Biden is also under immense pressure – from both Republicans and Democrats – to do more to stem the flow. 

He recently waived 26 federal laws to allow for the construction of a new 32km stretch of border wall, a major policy reversal from his 2020 campaign when he vowed that not “another foot of wall” would be built during his administration.