Iran Press/ America: With Washington divided on the future of US immigration policy, those waiting migrants and asylum seekers still hope to enter the US through legal pathways established by the Biden administration.
In Tijuana, Mexico, across the border from San Diego, California, an estimated 3,800 migrants from countries like Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela are staying in shelters, according to municipal migration affairs director Enrique Lucero. In Reynosa, Mexico, across the border from McAllen, Texas, another 3,273 migrants are waiting at Senda De Vida shelters, according to pastor Hector Silva, who runs the facilities. And in nearby Matamoros, Mexico, about 4,000 migrants are living in camps, shelters, and abandoned homes, says Glady Cañas who runs nonprofit Ayudandoles a Triunfar.
The waiting migrants feel “desperate,” according to Cañas – but many have put trust in mechanisms like the CBP One app, which automates scheduling appointments to claim asylum with border patrol, she said.
In recent weeks, US border cities have struggled under the weight of an unprecedented surge of people crossing into the US from Mexico. Federal authorities reported a seven-day average of more than 9,600 migrant encounters along the US southern border in December, CNN reported Friday. For comparison, the seven-day average reported on November 28 was about 6,800 encounters.
216
Read more:
US warns against crossing Mexico border illegally as Title 42 ends
