(WitWave) - As the United States grapples with a surge of migrants crossing into the country illegally, more than 11,000 individuals are waiting in shelters and camps on the Mexican side of the border, according to information shared by community leaders to CNN. Despite the ongoing debate in Washington over the future of US immigration policy, these migrants and asylum seekers are hoping to enter the US through legal pathways established by the Biden administration.
In Tijuana, Mexico, approximately 3,800 migrants from countries like Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela are staying in shelters, as reported by municipal migration affairs director Enrique Lucero. Another 3,273 migrants are waiting in Senda De Vida shelters in Reynosa, Mexico, across the border from McAllen, Texas, according to Pastor Hector Silva. Additionally, about 4,000 migrants in Matamoros, Mexico, are living in camps, shelters, and abandoned homes, according to Glady Cañas, who runs the nonprofit Ayudandoles a Triunfar.
Despite their desperation, many waiting migrants have placed their trust in tools like the CBP One app, which automates the scheduling of appointments to claim asylum with border patrol. However, recent weeks have seen US border cities strained under the weight of an unprecedented surge of people crossing into the US from Mexico. In December, federal authorities reported a seven-day average of over 9,600 migrant encounters along the US southern border, compared to about 6,800 encounters at the end of November.
Despite the risks, some migrants attempt to cross the Rio Grande, with three reported drownings in the Matamoros area in December alone. Migrants who choose not to wait for a legal pathway often cling to hope fueled by messages from those who have been processed by US immigration authorities and released into American communities.
Returning is not seen as an option for many migrants at the border, even as the US Department of Homeland Security has deported or returned over 445,000 migrants since May. The federal government has taken measures to address the challenge, including closing ports of entry and temporarily suspending rail operations in certain areas.
While improvements have been noted in Eagle Pass, Texas, where a group of migrants was recently cleared and processed, illegal crossings persist, driven by individuals encouraging migrants to enter the US southern border between ports of entry, particularly in rural areas of Arizona. Large groups of migrants also continue to arrive at the border by train, with about 1,000 migrants reported to have arrived in Piedras Negras, Mexico, on Monday.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is set to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and President Biden’s Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall in Mexico City on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing situation.
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