The crisis experienced on the southern border of the United States and its impact on the country’s political environment are causing a hardening of the Joe Biden administration regarding the immigration issue.
(Also read: Trump expects an apology from Biden for ‘taking so long’ to reinforce the border wall)
That is, at least, what emerges from his two announcements this week, aimed at strengthening controls at the crossing between the US and Mexico and stopping the migratory flow.
On the one hand, the Democratic administration revealed that it plans build a physical wall in a sector of the Rio Grande Valley, in Texas, which has been used as one of the preferred routes for illegal immigration.
On the other hand, Washington uncovered an agreement with the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, to begin the repatriation of citizens who are irregularly in the United States.
(Read also: US will resume deportation of migrants to Venezuela after agreement with Maduro)
Both moves were unthinkable until a few months ago, which make clear how explosive the situation is.
🇺🇸 Biden, after demonizing Trump during the campaign and all these years, will now resume construction of the wall and claims that he “cannot stop it.”pic.twitter.com/5G9WweaAKw
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) October 5, 2023
In the first case, both Biden and the Democrats had been criticizing the efforts of his predecessor, Donald Trump, to build a barrier between the two countries for years. In fact, one of the president’s first decisions after arriving at the White House was to cancel all plans in this regard, considering them inconsequential and harmful to the environment.
However, in the formal announcement filed in the Federal Register, the administration maintains that there is a “immediate and acute need that requires building physical barriers” to prevent illegal entry into the US.
Likewise, it warns that it will ignore at least 20 environmental regulations that would currently prevent construction in that area, which is also a corridor for animals that migrate between the two countries.
This Thursday, after hearing the news, the Biden administration tried to downplay its importance, claiming that it is only complying with a mandate from Congress that comes from 2019 when Trump was president. That year the legislature approved hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction of the wall and has so far refused to reallocate the resources to other programs.
In fact, Biden himself insisted this week that a wall was not the solution while Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was emphatic in saying that the administration has not changed its policy regarding the construction of physical barriers.
(You may be interested: Joe Biden’s government will expand the wall on the border with Mexico to stop migrants)
It is true that the government is not asking for more funds than are already appropriated to erect walls. Furthermore, the planned section only covers about 35 kilometers of the 3,600 that measures the border between Mexico and the United States. That is to say, it would be just a “bad of warm water” and it will take years before it is finalized.
But without a doubt it constitutes a 180-degree turn from its previous policies that It will provoke the anger of environmental and pro-migration groups that are part of the party’s base.
Likewise, in the order filed in the Federal Registry, the administration specifically mentions that in the month of August alone, more than 245,000 people entered illegally through that area of the border. A figure that breaks all previous records and adds to the more than two million illegals who have been caught trying to enter irregularly in this fiscal year 2023.
In other words, despite claims to the contrary, it is clear that the decision to erect barriers is associated with the migratory flow that is being recorded. So much so that former President Trump took it upon Biden by demanding excuses for opposing the construction of the wall.
The announcement in the case of Venezuelans is very similar. Both countries announced this Thursday the resumption of repatriation flights for compatriots, which had been suspended for more than five years after the breaking of diplomatic relations.
Although it is not known what the frequency of the flights will be, there is talk of starting with at least one a week. The move is largely due to several factors.
The first is that in recent months the flow of Venezuelans across the southern border has been reactivated. In fact, according to still unofficial figures from the Border Patrol, more than 50,000 were arrested in September, equivalent to a quarter of all detentions.
An impressive increase compared to previous figures that had fallen during the first half of the year after the announcement of a series of programs to stimulate illegal migration.
However, the obstacles that still exist in accessing them apparently ended up unleashing the current tsunami of migrants that has been exacerbated by the decision to grant Venezuelans temporary protected status that allows them to work legally in the US for a certain period.
The administration has just expanded that program to an additional 500,000 Venezuelans. Although the measure only applies to those who have entered before July 31, the idea that it will be expanded again has settled among Venezuelans who are now rushing to the border before the gate closes in case the Republicans return to the border. can.
Likewise, this enormous migration, which also includes Colombians and Ecuadorians, has translated into a major problem for large cities in the country such as New York and Chicago, which now demand that Biden do more to stop a flow that is costing them resources and insecurity problems.
But returning Venezuelans to a socialist regime like Maduro’s was also unthinkable a few months ago. The departure of Senator Bob Menéndez from the presidency of the foreign relations commission of the Upper House would have facilitated that decision.
Menéndez, a Democratic legislator of Cuban American origin who has just been accused of corruption, was categorically opposed to this type of repatriation.
But as a former US diplomat told this newspaper, although Menéndez’s situation facilitates the maneuver, the deep cause remains the same: “the situation on the border has gotten out of control. The thing about the wall and the of Venezuelans is just one step. But they must go further. They must, for example, expand the number of judges to process cases and they must reform the rules for requesting asylum because currently any person who feels persecuted can come to the United States. and that is unsustainable,” says the former diplomat.
In any case, both the decision to build a 35-kilometer wall and the decision to return some 200 Venezuelans a week are not going to put an end to a crisis like the present one, whose solution is multifaceted.
The ads, in that sense, respond more to the need to show firmness in the face of an issue that will dominate next year’s election campaign and that is a weak point for both Biden and the Democrats.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
On Twitter @sergom68
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