Thousands of migrants wait in shelters for the lifting of Title 42

There are thousands of migrants who, in the midst of the icy deadly winter season, some without the necessary clothing, without having eaten and after having traveled hundreds of kilometers of dangerous roads, They wait at the border, or on one side or the other, for their future to be decided through the decision of the future of Title 42.

The shelters are not enough, some even refuse to receive more migrants; On the other hand, families from border homes show solidarity with the crisis and receive some in their homes due to the overcrowding of the shelters.

Governors and local mayors have managed to get the Supreme Court to postpone the decision to terminate Title 42. Meanwhile, migrants continue to cross the border, or wait in Mexico for a decision.

(Also: US: uncertainty reigns at the border after decision to maintain Title 42)

On this side: 22,000 migrants are waiting in Mexico

Title 42 is a federal regulation imposed by the Government of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), which was maintained by the current Democratic Administration of the current president, Joe Biden.

This regulation, which was to stop being used on December 21 by court order, allows authorities to immediately expel migrants from different countries like Venezuela who arrive at the border, without giving them the opportunity to request asylum.

Migrants from other countries such as Nicaragua or Cuba are one of the few exceptions to this regulation, who can travel to the United States and receive a special asylum permit.

(Read also: United States: what does Title 42, express deportation measure, mean?)

Mexico is the land border crossing for most of the Latin American countries, who have traveled dangerous roads such as the virgin jungle of the Darién Gap. There are approximately 22,000 migrants who are waiting for a decision to be made that allows them to cross without running the risk of being immediately deported.

According to CNN reports, in Tijuana there are approximately 9,000 migrants, while in Reinosa there are 8,000, and in Matamoros there are 5,000 who wait in makeshift shelters that hardly protect them from the cold with temperatures below zero degrees Celsius.

(Keep reading: Bodies found under the snow: the balance of the winter storm in the US.)

The Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott has sent buses to Democratic cities in protest against the intention of President Joe Biden to eliminate the law created during the Trump term

On the other side: deportations and overcrowded shelters

Desperate at the possibility of staying in Mexico indefinitely, where they face extortion and threats from the cartels, many migrants decide to take the risk and cross the border undetected by border authorities.

Since it went into effect in 2020, Title 42 has allowed nearly 2.5 million removals at the border, according to data from the International Rescue Committee.

On the other side, unfortunately, they do not find the solution either. The massive arrival of migrants to the border city of El Paso, in Texas, is causing situations of discrimination such as the fact that there are shelters that do not accept people who have crossed into the United States illegally.

(Also read: At least three dead in a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian airbase)

At least three shelters in the city, including a huge shelter opened Thursday with a capacity for 1,500 people, they reject these migrantsas EFE verified in one of them and witnesses told about the other two.

Hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, have been forced in recent days to sleep on the streets in freezing temperatures, wrapped in blankets donated by good Samaritans.

From city to city, like a balloon, they pass the responsibility of migrants

Three buses with migrants chartered by the Republican Government of Texas arrived this Christmas Eve in Washington, one of them in front of the official residence of the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, local media reported this Sunday.

The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has sent dozens of buses with migrants to states governed by the Democrats since April as a method of protest against Joe Biden’s immigration policy, a gesture highly criticized by human rights organizations.

The people who got off the buses were quickly attended by social organizations that for months have been helping these migrants with clothing, food and shelter.

(We invite you to read: Ukraine asks to withdraw Russia from the UN while the Kremlin prepares its 2023 offensive)

The invisible border is drawn more firmly

In recent days, thousands of people have crossed the border with Mexico and many of them have concentrated in the city of El Paso (Texas), where they have had to sleep outdoors despite the freezing temperatures.

Despite this, your irregular stay in the United States may be very short because, for most migrants, the Title 42 rule still allows authorities to immediately expel them back to Mexico.

In the last weeks, the Texas National Guard has installed more than two miles of fencing in the El Paso area.

The fence, however, does not prove to be an efficient strategy. for immigration control. The Border Patrol records an average of 1,500 arrests a day, and that’s not counting the hundreds that have entered without being detected by agents.

More fencing is expected to be installed, a spokesperson for the Texas National Guard told CNN on Monday.

(Continue reading: Tension grows between the two Koreas after ‘provocative act’ with drones)

As more fences are built in the coming weeks, migrants continue to come to wait on one side or cross to the other, and governments, mayors, shelters, organizations, and citizens are looking to offer their help in the midst of the crisis. In the United States, the winter storm is not the only thing that has cities in emergency.

Santiago Andrés Venera Salazar*
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
With information from agencies and media