By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas | They're still coming, still trying like crazy to get into the United States, some from as far away as Colombia in South America. Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border continue to challenge the Border Patrol, but things are getting a little better.
The drop in apprehensions is staggering.
This from a report at usatoday.com: [ The U.S. government’s two-pronged approach at the U.S.-Mexico border – migrants now use a smartphone-based app to start the asylum process and face deportation if they make an unauthorized border crossing – is leading to a steep drop in the number of migrants intercepted at the border, according to U.S. officials.
Officials tout U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s new CBP One app for smartphones and other border policies as key reasons in the decline at the border, though migrant and human rights advocates note that other factors – including coils of razor wire along the Texas banks of the Rio Grande – could also be playing a role.
Border agents encountered about 100,000 asylum-seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border in June, a 50% drop from the 204,561 encountered in May, according to a senior CBP official. Advocates are also reporting fewer migrants in shelters along the border.
The effectiveness of President Biden’s border policies will be one of the most closely watched issues ahead of next year’s presidential election. ]
Texas has helped. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's mind-numbing actions (buoys up and down the Rio Grande) have been creative, if not outright mean. That buoy thing came this past week, so it's too early to gauge its success or defeat.
Concertina wire (see photo atop this story) has worked. Texas installed it on the U.S. side of the river, especially at known entry points. Migrant shelter administrators report that some migrants have arrived with slashes on their skin from cutting through the sharp-edge wiring.
Is it over for the Invasion At The Border Republicans? And, if so, will the handy, hot-button story next fade from national news and be something of a grand windfall for President Joe Biden, the incumbent and Democrat in the upcoming 2024 presidential election? National political issues tend to ebb & flow, this one included.
Looks like a sure positive, although we are fully aware that the U.S. remains a strong, strong magnet for troubled, abused and starving people from elsewhere. They'll keep coming. Migration here is historical.
Interestingly, a new group of migrants was said to be amassing in Southern Mexico for a march north. The number given, however, was tiny (1,000 migrants) compared to previous "caravans" numbering in the thousands.
As always, we'll just have to wait and see...
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