Freddy Sánchez walked with his family for hours under a scorching sun until entering the United States thanks to a breach in the border in the Californian desert. just one day after President Joe Biden announced new immigration restrictions.
(Read here: How will Joe Biden’s decision to restrict asylum applications in the United States affect Colombians?)
The 37-year-old man, who traveled for weeks by land from his native Guatemala, heard about changes at the border on Tuesday, the day before crossing into the United States.
“I thought about it and I got discouraged. But with the same thing I said ‘No, in the name of God we are going to get there’. And here we are, more inside than outside,” he said.
Even if they say to close borders, it will never be possible to close it because you want it or not, it is a source of work for many people
“Well, we had to move forward. Because all the money that is invested to come to this land… how to return it without trying?”, he said.
At the foot of the wall, Some 80 migrants from India, China, Honduras, Nicaragua, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and Jordan were waiting for a chance to plead their cases.
Human rights organizations criticize the new restrictions, while Biden asks for “patience.”
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What has changed so far?
The number of illegal crossings along the 1,800-mile border hit new records during his administration, reaching 10,000 in a single day in December last year, something Republicans relentlessly attack..
The number has decreased in recent months, but the issue is bitter for Biden, seeking re-election, while his rival Donald Trump’s campaign, focused on an anti-immigration message, gains followers with the promise of deporting millions and reinforce the border.
The number of illegal crossings along the 1,800-mile border reached new records during his administration, reaching 10,000 on a single day in December last year, something Republicans relentlessly attack.
This figure is lower than the daily average since February 2021, Adam Isacson, migration specialist at the Washington Office on Latin American Affairs think tank, highlighted on Tuesday, so the measure should go into effect immediately.
However, there were no changes Wednesday at Jacumba Hot Springs.
“Nothing has changed,” a border patrol officer said on condition of anonymity after counting the dozens of migrants waiting to be transferred to processing centers.
Wednesday was another day at the border: some 4,000 migrants were apprehended by authorities according to unofficial data cited by US media.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden.
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What people say at the US-Mexico border
The decree is similar to one that Trump issued in 2018, when he was president, and that was blocked in court thanks to a lawsuit from the NGO American Civil Liberties Union, which also plans to go to court against Biden’s action.
One of the differences is that the decree contemplates exceptions for cases such as minors unaccompanied by adults.
“Their parents stayed in Mexico,” said a volunteer who assisted the young people with food and water while they waited for the border patrol.
“They came together but at the last minute, scared by the decree, they decided not to cross and send them. Their uncle lives here,” said the woman who spoke with the brothers.
In the distance, another group of migrants from Colombia and Peru arrived walking, exhausted, after crossing through another gap in the imposing border wall, which people used to tie rags and protect themselves from the sun when the thermometer approached 40ºC.
For migrants, many of whom report torture, threats and all kinds of economic calamities in their countries of origin, there is no decree or physical obstacle that discourages them from seeking luck in the north.
“There are people here from many countries (…) it is a global issue,” said Alex Román.
“I think it is something that never ends, because for everyone, the United States is the American dream, our promised land.”
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