What the Media is Largely Overlooking at the Border: Biden’s Restrictive Policies
There has been a lot of distortion and fear regarding what is occurring at the border. Some of the narratives from the media and politicians have made it seem as if the Biden Administration has just opened wide the borders and is allowing everyone to enter. The reality is that, in many ways, it is the exact opposite. The Biden administration has largely continued the Trump administration policies on entrance into the country, particularly the Title 42 restrictions which have blocked asylum seekers due to COVID concerns. This has meant that families that are seeking asylum in the United States are turned back at the ports of entry. Families, who have crossed illegally into the United States, are usually sent back to Mexico.
It is true that the Biden administration did away with Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy (The Migration Protection Protocol). Many of those, who are part of this program (including many that were in the infamous border camp in Matamoros, which I had the privilege of visiting on numerous occasions), were allowed to enter into the US. However, the new families that are seeking to enter the US (largely from Central America), are being denied entrance. It is essentially Remain in Mexico under a new name: Title 42.
There have been some changes that the Biden Administration has made for those entering, particularly giving more assistance and taking a more compassionate approach to unaccompanied minors by allowing them to stay in the country. This (in turn) has caused a rise in the number of unaccompanied minors in the US as many families send their children over by themselves. The reality is that most of these children are not truly unaccompanied, but their parents are waiting in Mexico after they have been deported or denied entrance together as a family. I was talking to a mother at the border in this exact situation just this past week who was considering sending over her children by themselves. In many ways, it has created a significant issue with large numbers of unaccompanied minors. Some parents with very small children have been allowed to stay, but it seems to be on a case-by-case basis.
The solution to the rise in unaccompanied minors is not to go back to the Trump Administration policies that included deporting minors and breaking human rights protocols. Rather, the only solution is to end Title 42 and allow families to go through the asylum process. From my perspective, Title 42 and COVID-19 concerns have turned into an excuse for not wanting to go through the process of opening up the border. Those who are US citizens or US residents have no problem entering from Mexico. I have done it many times since COVID-19 began. So those with more wealth and privilege cannot carry COVID-19? The double standard reveals that the real issue is not a fear of COVID but not wanting to open the borders for people to go through the asylum process.
It is true that there has been somewhat of a mess made because Trump kept the borders closed for so long. That has created a type of bottleneck at the border. However, the longer that the Biden Administration continues with these types of policies, the harder it is going to be to change down the road. There have been some slight positive changes in regard to immigration at the border, but these halfway measures are making few people happy and are creating a crisis of our own making at the border. First and foremost, as immigration advocates, we have to change the narrative regarding the border. The problem is not that the Biden Administration’s policies are too inclusive. It is that they have largely followed Trump’s policies and are too exclusive.
