Hello, hivers. Today, in an edition that marks a maturity in our informative effort, we delve once again into the migratory phenomenon in the region. This is a movement that, in general, has the United States as its final destination, but the process is activated by the economic problems and in general the multidimensional crisis that affects our countries, with many people who are left on the road or manage to arrive as victims of smugglers, coyotes, cartels, the jungle, misinformation, their desperation, the application of U.S. regulations, and in this last sense —and especially recently— the lack of sensitivity of politicians like Greg Abbott, who literally squeeze their dreams and lives playing at democracy.
Greg Abbott (source).
Let us briefly recall that, since the expiration of the much-attacked regulations anchored to Title 42 of the U.S.C. —prompted by Trump—, the Biden administration has been applying since May 12 a new policy —also pointed out by activists and organizations in favor of migrant rights—, which presupposes ineligibility to apply for asylum except under circumstances well specified in the amended text of Title 8 of the C.F.R., raising the barrier that the alien must overcome to be able to present his case before the competent authority. An uncontrolled arrival of individuals was expected, but, to the surprise of the administration itself, it seems that the intense campaign that was deployed had some success, or at least those who were on their way showed caution, and the crisis finally didn´t occur (at the beginning of June, a decrease of more than 70% in unlawful entries along the Southwest border was reported).
Washington vs. Texas
As expected, the Republican governors of the states that share a stretch of the border with Mexico —with special mention to Abbott and his colleague Ron DeSantis— and that must deal with a significant migratory flow, have been pointing out for some time the White House strategy for being too lax, an "open-border policy". Operation Lone Star (OLS) is an initiative of the governor of Texas, more than a year old, which integrates the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, in principle aimed at combating illegal immigration, stopping the smuggling of weapons, drugs, and rejecting transnational criminal behavior. According to information published yesterday by Abbott's office —who appeals to his state's "sovereign" right to carry out these special measures—, as part of this effort 394,000 illegal immigrants have been apprehended, and just over 31,000 criminal arrests have been made (in addition, more than 420 million doses of fentanyl have been reportedly seized).
Abbott's statements and actions —such as sending busloads of migrants to territories governed by Democrats such as Washington or New York— tend to be criticized in the humanitarian order, but the latest denunciations have motivated very harsh reactions, including directly from the Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. It is not only the fact of deploying a "makeshift buoy wall" and having installed "sharp razor wire" of concertina in the Rio Grande —a natural border with Mexico— that operate as "death traps", but the worrying report about the orders Texan agencies in charge of the OLS have received to push back into the river even nursing babies if necessary to prevent the crossing, or to deny water to migrants found with the condition of heat exhaustion.
A child injured by the razor wire deployed along the floating barrier (source).
Yesterday it became known the intention of the Department of Justice to sue Texas specifically for the floating barricade issue, to which an overbearing Abbott responded with an "I'll see you in court, Mr. President". Experts and politicians point out that this deployment would be in violation of active agreements with Mexico - the new Mexican foreign minister and former ECLAC chief Alicia Bárcena introduced an appeal in this regard —but also that it is impeding the operability of federal forces in their own role of securing the border. The White House, rejecting the narrative that its immigration policy encourages the irregular flow, affirmed this Friday that the new approach is working, with data —not exposed— that would be validating that the management of the migratory problem is at its best point in two years.
What to expect in the immediate future?
From Abbott I expect similar behavior, and if anything to escalate in both his narrative and his conduct. I knew his hard-line policy could result in a child being pushed back into the Rio Grande as well as a pregnant woman trapped in the concertina wire, but he is guided by the effect his tough standing on this issue has on his base; playing how sovereign his state is against Biden is a win-win situation for him. I have said it before and I repeat it now: although they are debatable, the modifications introduced by the Department of Homeland Security in May, in principle, continue to allow a path to asylum, but, in addition, from the Oval Office extraordinary opportunities have been enabled —and from a personal point of view I can affirm that they are operational— for more Latin Americans to acquire the right to legally enter the United States. The problem continues to lie in the deep crisis that overwhelms the region —for the moment incapable of overcoming it on its own—, and then in the insufficient offensive from Washington itself to attack its structural bases.
