How border communities are preparing for increase in migrants as Title 42 ends

Amna Nawaz:

The Biden administration is rushing to prepare for an increase in migrants at the Southern border, as the pandemic era deportation policy known as Title 42 is set to end in a matter of days.

An additional 1,500 U.S. troops are being sent to the U.S.-Mexico border next week to help with administrative tasks, as local communities brace for the change.

Laura Barron-Lopez has more on how one border city is preparing.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

El Paso, Texas, is a critical stop for thousands of migrants seeking asylum from Mexico and South and Central America.

More than 5,000 migrants are in Customs and Border Patrol custody already in the El Paso Sector, with more arriving every day. El Paso's mayor declared a humanitarian state of emergency ahead of the end of Title 42, a policy that's allowed for the immediate expulsion of millions of migrants.

Joining us is Bishop Mark Seitz of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso.

Bishop, thanks so much for joining us.

Your church helps provide shelter for migrants that are seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. How is your diocese preparing for the end of Title 42?

Bishop Mark Seitz, Catholic Diocese of El Paso: Well, we're meeting with all of the people that are involved in this process, from the local counties and city officials, to border enforcement agencies, to NGOs, and others.

We're really trying to come together with daily meetings to begin to address this constantly changing situation.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

I talked to immigration lawyers and advocates today who said that the Biden administration just reached out to them about two days ago, reached out to organizations on the ground about how to plan for the lifting of Title 42.

Do you feel as though you are receiving adequate guidance or assistance from federal authorities?

Bishop Mark Seitz:

We have been concerned for quite a while that it seems to have been a fairly well-kept secret whatever was being planned. And it certainly would have been helpful to know earlier.

I do understand that a lot of things have been in the works. But it has left us feeling as though we really don't quite know what to prepare for.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

And what are you hearing from El Paso residents on the U.S. side of the border, as well as on the Mexico side, as you prepare for more migrants to start crossing?

Bishop Mark Seitz:

Well, we're a place that is very familiar with the passage of people across the border.

We're a border community. And, by that, I mean that everyone here has connections across the border, right? And so the presence of immigrants coming through is just part of our DNA in a certain way. And so there's a general openness and an empathy with those who are feeling forced to leave their homes and to come.

I think that people here right now are very concerned about whether we can handle the numbers that are coming to us. And, yes, there are concerns about whether that will have a negative impact on our community, but, even more than that, whether these people who are in our midst are going to be adequately cared for.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

The continued use of Title 42 has been criticized by immigration advocates, the continued use under the Biden administration, because of the fact that it allowed Customs and Border Patrol to immediately expel migrants seeking asylum without due process.

Now the Biden administration is about to finalize a new regulation that would make it extremely difficult, largely block migrants from seeking asylum if they have traveled through other countries to get to the United States.

Do you think that President Biden has made good on his promises to institute at a more humane immigration policy compared to his predecessor?

Bishop Mark Seitz:

I think the Biden administration came in with great hopes and plans.

And I'm presuming that they still want to have a more human process. But the concern about the numbers that we're facing has left them choosing options that we really have concerns. We believe that these policies will have long-term negative impact on the fundamental right of asylum, which is supported in international law and national law.

We were — we thought we had learned after World War II, when we turned away boats of Jewish people trying to find refuge in the United States, that nations, and not just some nations, every nation has a responsibility to accept these people that are at our doors. Yes, they have to comply with a certain process. They have to prove their needs.

But what is at risk right now is that people who are fleeing to us will have no other place to go. Sometimes, they talk about these other nations that they pass through as being safe third countries, right? I don't know of a safe third country in Central America right now. They're all facing significant problems.

And so, again, I wonder where these people are going to turn.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

And, Bishop, the president is sending an additional 1,500 troops down to border communities like yours in El Paso.

Do you think that these extra troops are necessary?

Bishop Mark Seitz:

We're concerned about the militarization of the situation.

And we're going to be very attentive to make sure that the administration sticks to what it said, that these troops are not going to be involved in a military-style enforcement, but, rather, surveillance and other things.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Bishop Mark Seitz of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, thank you so much for your time.

Bishop Mark Seitz:

Appreciate you having me.