US Migration Crisis – “Floodgates Open”: When Hope Turns To Hell

They wander through the jungle under the most adverse conditions, cross rivers and end up in life-threatening situations. They sleep outside or have spent their last money on a tent. They come from Venezuela, Nicaragua and other countries. Their destination: the US. Her hope: a better life.

The expiration of the so-called “Title 42” regulation threatens a serious migration crisis at the US-Mexico border.

On May 11 at 11:59 p.m., the corona emergency was lifted in the US and with it the special arrangement. For months, flimsy pretenses have been used to lure people into a dangerous journey.

Fake news fuels the flow of refugees
Among smugglers and migrants, the return of traditional border rules has been falsely touted as “opening the floodgates”. On TikTok, posts tagged “#titulo42” have been viewed nearly 100 million times. A popular post reads: “11. May: You cannot be evicted. Title 42 is over.” But that is not correct, people can only apply for asylum more easily.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas warned the public on Wednesday that the situation is deteriorating. The Mexican newspaper Milenio reported on Wednesday that up to 12,000 migrants are expected in the US border towns of El Paso, Brownsville and Laredo in Texas.

Mayorkas explained that the US government had been preparing for the end of the pandemic regime for some time and was significantly expanding staff at the border. He emphasized again: “Our border is not open. Crossing the border illegally is against the law.”

Many experts fear that the system will collapse, as detention cells and other border facilities are already completely overcrowded. The number of illegal crossings reached 10,000 a day this week, the Washington Post reports. An unprecedented brand. “It was not only known yesterday that title 42 would end. I think Joe Biden overslept,” said Günter Bischof, head of the Center Austria at the University of New Orleans, in an interview with krone.at.

Escaping economic bankruptcy
The current situation is an expression of “the deep social crisis in Latin America,” says the historian of American history. The pandemic and subsequent recession hit Latin America harder than many other parts of the world. The economic shock plunged people into hunger, distress and despair. Outbursts of violence and armed conflicts exacerbated the crisis. The war in Ukraine eventually led to a rise in food prices.

Unemployment is at its highest level in decades in many countries south of the US. Colombia even recorded the highest level since records began.

Venezuela was already going through a serious economic crisis before the pandemic. The result: a mass exodus since 2015. About 7.2 million Venezuelans – about a quarter of the population – have since left the country, many of them currently struggling on the “Darién Gap” jungle route towards the US. Many people expect to be welcomed with open arms.

The United Nations estimates that up to 400,000 people will cross the roughly 70-mile (110-kilometer) passage between South and Central America this year — nearly 40 times the annual average from 2010 to 2020.

The Perfect Storm”
“As long as the situation in the countries of origin does not calm down, the crisis at the American border will continue,” says Bischof. Dan Restrepo, a former top adviser to ex-President Barack Obama on Latin America, also speaks to the New York Times of “a perfect storm”: “You can’t think of worse facts to leave tens of millions of people with no choice but to move.”

A six-point plan released last year by the Department of Homeland Security includes expanding migrant reception facilities and other capabilities along the borders, as well as stepping up the fight in light of the impending repeal of the “Title 42 rule against smuggling.

At the same time, the authority in the newspaper of the US Congress called for a comprehensive reform of the US immigration system. But in the US, Republicans and Democrats have been blocking each other here for years, which has repeatedly led to scandals. Unforgettable are the inglorious scenes of children in cages – separated from their parents – during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2018.

But it is also silent under Biden. He assigned the subject to Vice President Kamala Harris. But here, too, it remains “colorless,” says Bischof: “In the US, there’s only a big hit in migration policy every 30 or 40 years — and then there’s a standstill. The prime example of this is Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, he would rather put migrants on buses to New York than solve the problem.”

Popular rejection is growing
Moreover, the subject is increasingly being discussed, also in American society. A Gallup poll found that about 19 percent of Democrats said they want less immigration. A sharp increase compared to 2 percent in 2021. Republicans remain majority (71 percent) against.

“The widespread rejection of migrants – especially from Latin America – is clearly racist. And a little absurd. The US needs workers,” Bishop emphasizes. In some cases, the search for workers is so desperate that Republicans in several U.S. states are proposing to relax restrictions on child labor.

US President Biden also wants to remain steadfast and send 1,500 extra soldiers to the southern border. The first troops have already arrived. For tens of thousands of people who have embarked on the arduous journey, the ‘American Dream’ now threatens to turn into a nightmare. Since midnight at the latest, the American castle in the air should have turned into hell.