Frigid temperatures create dangerous conditions for migrants gathering near border

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• Judy Woodruff:

  Just days before Christmas, the future of the United States pandemic era immigration policy known as Title 42 remains uncertain.

  That is after the U.S. Supreme Court put a hold on its expiration date this week.

  As Geoff Bennett reports, this means that thousands of migrants in communities along the Southern border are caught in limbo and in the cold right now.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Along the U.S.-Mexico border, dreams for a new life and America suddenly delayed, thousands of migrants hoping to find asylum in the U.S. this week told to wait.

• Vanessa Revenga, Migrant (through translator):

  We're waiting. Here, they say one thing. Then, half-an-hour later, they say something else. That's the situation. We don't know anything.

• Yailin Arguelles, Migrant (through translator):

  It's difficult because it's like having your dreams shattered. We come here with a goal, to help our family. When I arrived and saw those soldiers, it hurt me a lot, because I felt like I had run out of possibilities.

• Geoff Bennett:

  This week, migrants trying to cross faced Texas National Guard soldiers setting up barbed wire to create a barrier.

  At night, they lit small fires to keep warm as temperatures dropped. Migrants had anticipated the expiration of Title 42 this week after a federal judge called it unlawful. The Trump administration rule allowed officials to quickly turn migrants back to Mexico or their home countries.

  But, on Monday, the Supreme Court granted a request by a group of Republican attorneys general to keep Title 42 in place. In response, the Biden administration pushed the court to lift the restrictions, but not before the Christmas holiday.

  Conservative lawmakers like Texas Governor Greg Abbott say Title 42's exploration would overstretch the immigration system and further overwhelm border communities. In the U.S. border town of El Paso, migrants seeking asylum are met with more hardship. Many that can't find room in shelters are left to sleep on the streets.

• Rev. Daniel Mora, Sacred Heart Church:

  We have been seeing a humanitarian crisis. This is the first time that we see this here in El Paso. We have had migrants before, but this is the first time that this is really a little bit out of hand.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Local officials say they're opening more shelters to temporarily house migrants ahead of a cold stretch this weekend.

  For more on the situation at the Southern border, I'm joined by Pulitzer Prize winning Getty Images photojournalist John Moore, who just returned from a trip to El Paso.

  John, thanks for being with us.

• John Moore, Getty Images:

  Geoff, it's great to talk with you.

• Geoff Bennett:

  You have spent years covering the U.S.-Mexico border, reporting the immigration story from all sides.

  What role do you think photographers in particular have in covering this immigration story?

• John Moore:

  Well immigration has become such a political issue.

  But I think, when you see photographs, and you see that everyone coming across the border as a human being — people aren't leaving their country and making this long journey because it's easy. They're doing it out of desperation.

  Everyone needs to be seen as a human being who has needs. And photojournalist play an important role in showing what that looks like.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Well, let's talk more about what you saw and some of the images that you captured, starting on the Mexico side of the border around Ciudad Juarez.

• John Moore:

  Well, there's thousands of people on the Mexican side there in Juarez waiting to get in.

  And many of them are presenting themselves to Border Patrol agents on the border. They often sleep overnight next to the border fence. It's very cold in Juarez and El Paso right now. And they burn trash at night to keep warm. They're bundled up.

  And just across the border, there's El Paso. People don't think of El Paso as a huge cosmopolitan American city, but when you're on the Mexican side of that border and you see these high-rise buildings in the background, for them, it looks very special. And that's just beyond their grasp.

  And so people are very desperate to get through the gate and get in and accepted for political asylum.

• Geoff Bennett:

  You have said before that the pictures we remember the most are the ones that make us feel.

  And you have captured so many images of sheer desperation. And one that stands out to me is this photo you captured of a mother, a Venezuelan migrant, who reaches the U.S.-Mexico border with her three children, and she breaks down in tears. What's the story behind that?

• John Moore:

  Well, I met Yaneisi Martinez and her kids after they were having a very difficult morning.

  I had arrived very early, in the darkness, and found that the Texas National Guard had deployed. They had set up concertina wire. They had their military vehicles, and it was a real show of force. So when she and many others walked out to the border that day, they saw this bristling American military presence.

  The border was essentially closed for her and others in that sector at the time, and she had been traveling for three months, just her and her three children from Venezuela. She'd arrived to Juarez a few days before, and it was just overwhelming for her to see all this barbed wire on the other side of the river.

• Geoff Bennett:

  The border region has been described as a place where fear and hope collide.

  And for those migrants who did make it through, who did get to El Paso, you have pictures of a good samaritan handing out food, of a shelter trying to house and clothe people, even a picture of migrants watching the World Cup on a cell phone.

  Tell me about that.

• John Moore:

  Well, for those who are able to cross through and apply for political asylum in the U.S., their first stop there is really shelters, where they have to gather themselves. They're allowed to get showers. People wait outside all day long in order to get this limited space.

  Many people have had to sleep on the streets in El Paso. El Paso has a state of emergency right now in dealing with this migrant surge. At Christmastime, it's tough to see so many folks, many of whom are very religious, having to deal with the fundamental basic needs of survival on the street.

  Many people are doing things to ease the trip for these folks. But the fact is, it's cold outside. It's a tough time of year to be suffering. And with Title 42 happening right around the holiday season, it's really challenging. It's tough to see.

• Geoff Bennett:

  John Moore, award-winning photojournalist for Getty Images, thanks so much for being with us.

• John Moore:

  Thank you so much.