New York City is preparing to respond to a crisis in the light of the Abbott-Biden immigration policies, and a future tent intake center

The city will be directed to coordinate its efforts to respond to a humanitarian crisis through a declaration by Adams. The state of emergency will last 30 days, according to the mayor.

Adams said New York City’s shelter system is at full capacity. The total population within the shelter system will increase to 100,000 in the year to come if asylum seekers continue to enter the city at the current rate, according to the mayor.

The state of Texas has spent more than $18 million busing people from the border communities toWashington D.C., and New York City. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the program in April as part of his response to the Biden administration’s immigration policies, and acknowledged that taxpayers were likely to foot the bill.

We are going to announce it once we finalize how we will continue to live up to our legal and moral obligation. Adams spoke at an unrelated event and said that until then they are just letting people know how they are going to solve the humanitarian crisis.

Even now, pundits, politicians and news reports repeatedly state, without evidence, that Biden’s vow to halt the border wall’s expansion (construction has continued) invites migration.

Mr. Adams said in his speech at City Hall that the city was preparing to spend $1 billion on its response to the influx of migrants, which would be paid for by federal and state funding.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat who took office in January, said the city was moving forward with plans to build a tent intake center on Randalls Island, in the East River just off Manhattan. There are plans to house migrants on a cruise ship.

Walking on a Mexican border: an encounter with a border patrol agent in a new neighborhood: comments on the video by Michelle Garca

Editor’s Note: Michelle García is the author of a forthcoming non-fiction book about the US-Mexico border. She is the 2021 winner of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize and the Covering Climate Now Award. She tweets @pistoleraprod. She has her own opinions in this commentary. CNN has more opinion on it.

I recently moved to a new neighborhood in South Texas that is near the Rio Grande. The day was pleasant and not hot or humid.

Distorted border politics exist on such an extreme level that journalists and pundits describe Gov. DeSantis’ tactics as a “stunt” and debate how it might play with voters, while the people used in the “stunt” are certified as crime victims by a Texas sheriff. It could be a crime that earned DeSantis standing ovations in Wisconsin and Kansas. The flights were voluntary and were meant to give the passengers a fresh start.

As I was walking near the border wall, I stared at it and saw a Border Patrol agent cruising along on an all-terrain vehicle. After a while, the agent showed up and asked where I was going. Knowing he was exceeding his authority, I didn’t answer, and likely for the same reason, he didn’t insist – but soon other agents showed up to monitor my walk.

Another Border Patrol agent, in a video recorded earlier this year by the National Butterfly Center in the Rio Grande Valley, claimed it was his job to identify anyone and everyone along the border, a staggering overreach. Texas guardsmen have told me the area around the river isn’t off limits.

Vallejo, who has called for making the asylum process more efficient, is running against Monica de La Cruz, who has campaigned on what she calls a “crisis” and “brewing disaster” at the border. Vallejo has accused her opponent of using the border for photo ops and promoting a vision that it is a violent site of desolation, bereft of beauty and even people. A year ago, Garza told me that Border Patrol was needed to push back against narratives of a “made up invasion” and that he separated hysteria and delusion from substance and solutions.

Amid this political climate, two brothers were arrested and charged with shooting at people migrating through rural Hudspeth County, Texas. Survivors told police the gunmen shouted something to the effect of, “Come out you sons of bitches, little asses,” before one of them fired two rounds. One person died, and another was injured.

Three years ago a person who made references to the racist “replacement theory” in an online statement attributed to him killed more than two dozen people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The online statement says that the shooter was motivated by demographic changes. The characterization is similar to what politicians including Gov. Abbott and the president of the Border Patrol Council said when they criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policy.

Border delusions dismiss facts and ignore data by the agencies responsible for securing the border. The Department of Homeland Security’s reports show that the Border Patrol has largely met its own targets for five years. In remote areas, agents have met their targets by responding and assessing potential illegal activity quickly. The Border Patrol retired the measure due to the saturation point of their border patrols.

Delusional politics cost America and paralyzed the nation when a fight over funding for a border wall between Donald Trump and the Democrats resulted in the longest- running government shutdown in history. A deal was reached to make barriers along the border and Border Patrol claimed that it was called ‘Walls Work’.

DHS had failed to develop metrics to gauge the effectiveness of border barriers for almost two decades beginning in 2005, according to the Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan agency that monitors congressional spending.

Billions of tax dollars were spent, dozens of federal laws were waiving, and hundreds of acres of farmland and private property were seized to build a wall with no proven value. The GAO was provided with a demonstration of its model by the DHS in January. The model is sensitive to law enforcement and continues to be in development, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

Politicians like Gov. Abbott have used these claims to justify his headline-grabbing campaign to send immigrants to US cities – just one aspect of “Operation Lone Star,” the multi-billion-dollar border security initiative that he launched last year. Abbott claims the operation resulted in the apprehension of immigrants and thousands of criminals.

Throughout the initiative, the governor’s office and state police have resisted release of basic arrest records to back up their claims to me and other journalists.

State police asked for thousands of dollars for the records and stated they could be ready within 9 months, after getting assistance from the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic.

The Texas Tribune’s Unveiling of Border Politics: a Report from a Democratic-Leaning Group Observation during the 2020 South Texas Election

According to the preliminary data provided by the state, Abbott and his office have hailed the success of Operation Lone Star, despite the fact that someplishments that lacked crucial context were described in an investigation by the Texas Tribune.

The government and the American public should respond to those who arrive at the border with reasons that include persecution, political and economic instability.

It will take political and grassroots leadership that centers on a functioning border. Ramn said that speaking about the realities at the border is what it takes to level with people.

A new Biden policy allows authorized Venezuelans to arrive by airplane, even if they don’t apply for asylum. Petitioning for asylum, under law and treaty, is available to anyone who arrives in the US, regardless of the mode of transportation they used or whether they entered “at a designated port of arrival.”

Democrats may lose vote because of border politics, which they capitulation has cost. The border security rhetoric was critical to Trump winning the election. The Republicans made gains among South Texas voters in 2020 due to years of photo ops and policy briefings, among other investments. “Republicans owned the border issue” in South Texas without any “meaningful competition,” according to an in-depth analysis of the 2020 election by Equis Research, a Democratic-leaning group with a focus on Latino voters.

But this election, some candidates have denounced violent border politics. First-time candidates such as Michelle Vallejo, who is running for a South Texas congressional seat, and Rochelle Garza, the Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general, are running on platforms that reclaim the border from delusional narratives – and violent slogans — while pushing for effective policies.

Communities in Washington, DC, New York and other cities welcomed newcomers to the area despite Abbott and DeSantis efforts to cast migrants as a problem.

During the call between Schumer and Klain, the Senate majority leader raised concerns about the administration’s preparation for the looming termination and whether officials were indeed considering a new asylum policy, according to two sources with knowledge of the call.

The call – one of many that have come in from lawmakers to the White House – was indicative of the politically precarious position for Biden as officials try to fend off Republicans pounding the administration over its handling of the border and appease Democrats concerned about barring asylum seekers from the US.

Leeser’s comments and a visit from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to El Paso this week have reignited the debate over how authorities should respond to an expected influx of migrants with the lifting of Title 42, the Trump-era public health policy that allows federal immigration agents to swiftly expel migrants to Mexico or their home countries.

The termination of the authority is expected to lead to an increase in border crossings since authorities will no longer be able to quickly expel them as has been done since March 2020.

Schumer, a New York Democrat who has long pressed the administration to terminate Title 42, is far from alone. A steady stream of calls have come in from both legislators and state and local officials who have differing views on the merits of the authority. Some of the calls expressed concern about what Title 42 will mean in recent weeks and how it will affect the border.

The Biden administration has been preparing for a moment in their life when they have long grappled with how to navigate. The latest phase of the effort has been ongoing for quite some time and officials understand that at some point the policy will come to an end. Increased levels and resources will be announced in the days ahead, with personnel and technology infrastructure directed to key entry points.

Asked about concerns inside the administration about the potential for a surge at the border once Title 42 goes away, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre listed off a series of personnel, processing and infrastructure efforts that have been put into place.

Jean-Pierre told reporters at the White House that they are going to do the work, prepare and make sure the process is humane.

Implications of the border crisis for border management and the arrival of thousands of illegal migrants in El Paso, Texas, during the weekend weekend border patrol session

One of the ways in which the administration has faced difficulty is due to managing a rapid shift in the countries of origin of the migrants apprehended at the border.

Throughout, administration officials have stressed that the only viable long-term solution will come from congressional action, noting encouragement with a bipartisan framework released in the Senate last week.

Sources briefed on the discussions said the bipartisan immigration deal led by Tillis and Sinema is dead this Congress.

The framework, which was meant to be used for protecting Dreamers, was not likely to have much impact on the session.

Already, over the weekend, more than 2,400 migrants crossed into the United States each day in only one section of the border, according to a senior Border Patrol official, marking what he described as a “major surge in illegal crossings” in the El Paso, Texas, sector.

White House officials have also been in daily conversations with DHS officials about planning, sources told CNN. The National Security Council, which has been heavily involved in migration management amid mass movement across the Western hemisphere, has also played a critical role, sources said.

The request is meant to bolster border management resources and is part of the funding discussions. The source said that it wasn’t specific to the end of Title 42.

If adopted, the proposal would be similar to a policy put in place by the Trump adminstration that made it difficult for migrants who traveled through other countries before coming to the US to claim asylum. There is no decision made on the proposal.

When Covid restrictions are lifted this month due to a court order, administration officials have set other plans in motion to deal with a surge of migrants. The legal fight intensified this week when 19 Republican-led states asked a federal appeals court to rule on their request to suspend the termination of the policy by Friday, according to a court filing.

Like the border’s way of life, the arrival of migrant workers in El Paso is more complex than in Ciudad Juret, its larger sister city in Mexico. On the north concrete banks of the Rio Grande, hundreds of people — many of them Nicaraguans — are lining up for hours, waiting to seek asylum in the US. The south bank of the river where a camp of migrants living in tents was dismantled by Mexican officials has been a source of longing for the people of Venezuela. Numerous nonprofit and faith groups as well as governments on both sides of the border are scrambling because their shelters are quickly reaching capacity.

In a document outlining border security preparedness and obtained by CNN, DHS broke down its six-pillar plan, which was released in the spring and has since been updated. It includes scaling up ground and air transportation capabilities to transport migrants for processing and remove them, leaning on a CBP One mobile application to process asylum seekers, and increasing referrals for prosecutions for repeat border crossers, the document said.

The current asylum system is under great strain, and the DHS wants congress to update outdated statutes so that it’s still functioning.

The 21st is going to be a bad day. There are so many things in the pipeline, but nothing is ready (to) go,” one official said, referring to December 21 when Title 42 is set to end.

From El Paso City to the End of Title 42: The Case for a Safe and Orderly Immigration System as Planned by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Mass movement around the globe poses a unique challenge according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

As a growing number of migrants arrive in the border city of El Paso, Texas, officials there say the situation is “unsustainable” and could intensify into a full-blown crisis.

The partnership of congress, state and local officials, NGOs, and communities is needed to address this challenge.

The head of El Paso Sector of the US Border Patrol said that any law enforcement actions like these need to be coordinated through him. CNN reached out to US Customs and Border Protection.

El Paso city officials said Tuesday they’re monitoring the situation and are in ongoing discussions with federal, state, and local partners. Mayorkas also visited El Paso on Tuesday where he met with the Customs and Border Protection workforce and local officials.

A source tells me the Biden administration is asking Congress for over $3 billion as it prepares for the end of Title 42.

If Republicans in congress are serious about border security, they would make sure that DHS has the resources it needs to build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.

Cuellar, who represents Texas’ 28th District, told CNN he’s in close touch with the city of Laredo about preparations, adding that the city may bus migrants to other locations as they’ve done in the past if nonprofits can’t handle the influx of arrivals.

Dina Diaz hid her defeat and frustration from the children by walking behind her husband on the streets of El Paso, Texas. A social worker had escorted them to an emergency shelter only to be denied entry and within the hour, with the sunlight gone for the day, temperatures would quickly dip below freezing.

El Paso, a dangerous place for migrant workers and the children of Central America: Witnesses to drug and gang violence and the humanitarian crisis

Moments before, the Nicaraguan mother of three children who is seven months pregnant, couldn’t stop her eyes from watering when the social worker burst into tears, apologizing for coming empty-handed.

More than 2,500 people have arrived in El Paso each day in the past week, city officials said, warning that the number is expected to double after the federal policy is lifted.

“It’s something that we’re going to have to work with the UN and other countries to work through. It’s a situation that again, is bigger than El Paso, and now it’s become bigger than the United States,” he told reporters earlier this week.

The reality of the impending deadline, as ordered by a federal judge, is weighing heavily on this city where officials and community organizations say they’re already overwhelmed.

“We have a responsibility to meet at this moment,” said Marisa Limón Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, a local nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants.

It’s up to us to really take a stance and encourage our elected officials to do more. It’s not something that we can just turn away from, we don’t have that luxury. This is a real phenomenon that people anywhere in the US need to know about,” she added.

CNN spoke with people on both sides of the US-Mexico border about the harsh realities that migrant families have experienced since fleeing poverty as well as drug and gang violence in their home countries, and the role that some locals play in the humanitarian crisis.

Many migrants who waded into the river have been sleeping on the streets of El Paso for several days after being taken into custody by federal authorities. The bus stations that they clustered in are less than a mile away from the spot where they reached US land.

Misael had been waiting outside the Greyhound station for a week in hopes of getting a last chance to see his brother in Central Texas.

The 35-year-old spent more than two months traveling from Peru to El Paso, but he can’t afford his bus ticket yet. The man who arrived at the border with no more than what he was wearing had only clothes on.

“I’ve been to Mexico many times and it’s the worst place I’ve traveled to because of the amount of people that have died there and the amount of kidnappings,” he said.

Aguilera, who used to work as a clinical nurse specialist in his native Cuba, keeps himself busy by keeping the makeshift camp outside the downtown bus station somewhat organized and clean. As some people leave on buses, he and others collect the larger blankets some leave behind and save them for those who may arrive at any given time.

We’re trying to keep the place neat. Make sure trash is being picked up, keeping this space clean and just creating an environment where we can feel safe,” Aguilera said.

Diaz and Diaz’s family in El Paso: Crossings across a border crossings migrant storiesreaj-cnn-photos

The people who are near the Greyhound station areDiaz and her family. Adults and young children with little to no money have been in El Paso for a week, unable to afford bus tickets for each of them.

Afraid of getting separated, they spent most nights on the streets after shelters wouldn’t accept all of them or denied them entry for not having arranged travel out of El Paso. There are many times when Carlos Pavn Flores cannot hold their daughter in his arms. He wants to keep her warm if nothing else.

A convenience store and a gas station are located by the edge of downtown El Paso. After being released from Border Patrol custody, a group of migrants will usually wait at the building across the street from a bus station and two blocks away from the Greyhound station.

And the 20-year-old, who used to spend his days solely cleaning and restocking shelves, might be the first El Paso resident who is not a government official that many migrants encounter.

Some people want to know if the store would lend out pesos in exchange for US dollars or if they would have to use a clean restroom or find directions to the store where they can buy clothes. At times, the constant traffic could be hectic, Banda says, but he understands the precarious situation migrants are experiencing.

“I come from a modest background and my family has taught me to help in any way I can,” he said. “And they are very respectful people, very respectful. They are good people, even better than some locals.”

Source: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/12/us/el-paso-crossings-migrant-stories-reaj-cnnphotos/

The intersection of the El Paso-El Paso homeless shelter and the Los Alamos-Sales Center for the Homeless: A story of bandsa, banda, and Martin

A few feet away from the store, dozens of people are camping on the sidewalk. He says that the area has increased in the past two months. Some have been sleeping there for a week while other arrived a day or two ago.

Because Banda often talks with his family about what his interactions are with migrants at the store, he says his mother has started collecting blankets to donate and talking with her employers and acquaintances about how they can also help.

When a white bus dropped 25 men who had just been released from immigration custody at the doorstep of a shelter near downtown El Paso without prior notice, staff members — from social workers, receptionists and maintenance workers — rushed to pick up intake forms and pens to greet them.

The facility is one of five homeless shelters that have been either at capacity or over capacity with the arrival of migrants, said John Martin, deputy director of the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, which runs the shelters.

Martin and his staff are among the dozens of people working for nonprofits, religious groups, immigrant advocates, and other groups that have stepped up to help migrants and are close to reaching their breaking point.

Migrants who come to the shelter don’t want to stay in El Paso, so staff members help them arrange travel, said Martin. While the shelter doesn’t cover the cost, it’s a process that involves many calls to relatives across the country, bus companies and airlines, and navigating language barriers.

“We may get 30 on their way and all of a sudden, I’ve got 50 that come in right behind them. “We won’t ever be able to catch up at this rate,” Martin said.

As the days pass and the number of migrants continues increasing, Martin is unsure of the shelter’s future and says he worries they would have to make a decision that goes against the shelter’s very own mission.

“The Opportunity Center is going to come to a point, and I’m thinking it may be within the next day or two, where we simply don’t have physical space to handle them. We are going to have to say no.

A Mexican woman’s story of living in El Paso, Mexico, where Title 42 was granted to a Venezuelan family when they moved to the United States

Ingrid Matamoros and her family have lived at Tierra de Oro church shelters in Juárez for nearly six months. Despite selling plus-size clothes in Honduras, she was afraid for her and her children’s lives because of gang violence, extortion and threats.

Matamoros says she has gone through phases of desperation and shame of being in so much need, and hopes that they will soon be processed and vetted to enter the US with the support of a sponsor.

“You ask yourself why other people are crossing and you are not, why others have that opportunity and why there are people who waste their chances when there’s people like us who are at risk,” Matamoros says.

A group of people from other parts of Mexico, Guatemala, and the UK spent the morning at the shelter arranging chairs, hanging up Christmas lights and cooking food for a Mexican tradition that includes the re-enactment of Joseph and Mary’s search for a room in Bethlehem. Matamoros says that it will make her two children laugh and forget about their journey.

I would like this to end soon. I want a stable home for my children so they go to school, have a normal life, go to bed whenever they want and play or watch TV. I don’t want them to suffer anymore.”

When he was near the Rio Grande banks he put a tray down on the ground and took his socks off, but he picked it up again. He was able to get to the US without dropping a tray by dipping his feet in the freezing water, and stepping on a series of rocks.

He’s carried pizza boxes, water bottles, and other things for a long time and knows he can’t go further into the US because of his nationality.

The 30-year-old Venezuelan has been selling food and water to the migrants lining up close to the border wall in El Paso. Venezuelans had been previously exempt from Title 42, but the Biden administration started applying it to them in October.

“It’s our turn to simply wait and see what happens with us (Venezuelans). “We work to survive in this side of the border, but we are waiting for the end of Title 42,” said the man who has been living in Junez for about a week.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/12/us/el-paso-crossings-migrant-stories-reaj-cnnphotos/

The impact of the border crossing crisis on the migrant population in El Paso, Venezuela, as recounted by Emigrant Blake Barrow

He spends most of his day walking down the line of people, his voice echoes as he yells “el agua, el agua se acaba” (the water, the water is running out) trying to sell the water bottles he and his friends bought together. It’s their way of making some money or as some Venezuelans say “buscar la moneda” to eat and one day continue their journey up North.

Many of the arriving migrants are telling reporters they’re from their home country. Some have said that they were kidnapped and made it to the border.

Blake Barrow, chief executive director of Rescue Mission of El Paso, said the need is greater than anything he’s seen in 25 years running the homeless shelter.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. … We were not built for this type of a situation,” Barrow told CNN. We are doing everything we can to help these people, and they’re in need.

Increases of migrant populations crossing the border used to be gradual over a period of months. He stated that this time it was quick and over a few days.

The Department of Homeland Security claims that criminal organizations are to blame for the influx.

Implications of a Title 42 Explanation for Mexican Immigration and Border Patrol Enforcement in the Era of the Biden Administration

A federal judge ordered the Biden administration to stop using a Title 42 policy after ruling last month they are in violation of the law. The judge stayed his ruling to allow the Biden administration time to prepare.

The coalition of GOP-led states asked Roberts to overturn a DC Circuit US Court of Appeals decision that refused to block the end of Title 42, citing their own concerns about an increase in unlawful crossing as the southern border.

Since then, immigration authorities have continued to enforce the policy for single adults and some families, expelling migrants well over two million times since Biden took office.

Border officials across the US-Mexico border were on regular phone calls over the weekend preparing for the anticipated end of Title 42 and have been working with the Mexican government to try to stem the flow, the official added.

In the Del Rio sector, for example, officials predicted that the number of migrant encounters could double from 1,700 a day to 3,500 a day when Title 42 ends, straining overwhelmed resources in a remote area of the border.

“We’re going on as if nothing’s changed,” one of the officials said, adding that policy discussions are still underway to provide other legal pathways to Nicaraguans, Haitians and Cubans who make up a large number of encounters.

The official said that some might not get the message until they cross. Some of them will cross.

Inside the White House, the pause on the termination will not have any effect on what have been intense behind-the-scenes preparations for the end of the authority, according to a White House official.

In a news release Monday, the Texas Military Department said more than 400 Texas National Guard personnel “will be mission ready” to help assist with the migrant situation near the El Paso border.

Sgt. Jason Archer with the Texas Military Department Public Affairs told CNN “the wire that’s being placed is temporary” and will be up for an “undetermined amount of time.” It wasn’t done in conjunction with the US Border Patrol.

The US Border Patrol is often not aware that the National Guard is there, so agents can pick them up. Soldiers were assigned to monitor for activity along the border in Del Rio last year, and there wereHumvees located at observation points.

The El Paso county judge said that he did not want the initiatives to turn into policing just because of political opportunites. He said that he was not certain how long the group would remain at the border, because they had been told that the show of force was a training exercise.

My concerns are going to become a reality and that is not their role. I am pretty sure that it was not coordinated with Border Patrol. I have always insisted that any assistance from the state has to be part of our overall strategy and in lockstep with our own enforcement strategy,” the county judge told CNN.

State and local government officials across the country are concerned because of the uncertainty created by the temporary pause in Roberts’ process around the end of Title 42.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his administration was watching for a potential surge along the southern border in the aftermath of Title 42’s end.

Chuck Schumer is close to a source that says New York City is expected to get a large chunk of a new pot of federal aid designed to relieve cities overwhelmed by asylum seekers. The extra funding is expected to be included in the omnibus spending bill that Congress must pass before the end of the year.

The Emergency Food and Shelter Humanitarian program reimburses cities for providing food, shelter, transportation, basic health and other needs of asylum seekers. Schumer negotiated an increase to the EFSH pot from the original $150 million to the now $800 million despite GOP opposition, the source said.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Response to the Arizona Border Protection Law and a Motion to Suppress the Impact on the Border Security Crisis

The Attorney General of Arizona, Mark Brnovich, said in a statement that Title 42 will be put at risk if it’s removed, because there are so many illegal immigrants on the southern border.

Brnovich had told the justices in court papers that they should put the lower court ruling on hold. He said that the justices should give an immediate injunction to maintain the status quo and also consider whether to skip over the appeals court and agree to hear arguments on the merits of the issue themselves.

Failure to grant a stay will leave enormous damage to the States, as the States bear the consequences of illegal immigration.

The matter is likely to be referred to the full court by Roberts after the response from the administration on Tuesday. The chief justice’s brief order signaled that he was looking to move quickly.

“It is imperative that our community work collaboratively to address this federal migrant crisis,” said Mario D’Agostino, a deputy city manager for public safety in El Paso. “We must implement an aggressive but humane response to ensure we are taking care of everyone in our community as well as those passing through our community.”

At the same time, Mr. Biden and his team have been under intense fire from Republicans, who accuse the administration of being too lenient at the border. The Secretary of Homeland security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, will be investigated by House Republicans in the majority next year.