YUMA, Arizona — We’re one month away from the end of Title 42. But after President Biden warned it would be “chaos,” humanitarian groups called for help, and lawmakers called for restrictions, what effect did the new immigration policy really have on immigrants?
While local leaders told 12News that short-term solutions were piling up at the moment, Yuma’s surge in immigration in May didn’t last long. The Biden administration hopes that a combination of tougher penalties for illegal border crossings and new routes for immigration applications will ease the pressure on Border Patrol and border cities like Yuma.
BORDER CROSSING RATES DECREASED AFTER TITLE 42
Yuma is a city connected to the world. Every day, we ship our produce around the world and welcome hundreds of immigrants from over 130 countries. With such connections, many in the city were concerned about how their lives would be affected by Title 42’s end to his three-year immigration freeze.
“We expected that number to skyrocket with the lifting of 42. They’re not. They’ve scaled back.” Yuma County Superintendent Jonathan Lines.
of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently argued that its post-Title 42 plan is working as intended and that illegal border crossing rates are falling.
Before Title 42 ended, there were more than 800 voluntary surrenders every day within 116 miles of the border in the Yuma sector. Now, the ministry said the number has dropped to between 200 and 400 per day.
But local leaders fear the new status quo is still too high. Between May 12 and June 1, DHS reported repatriating 38,400 migrants to their home countries. Many of these immigrants arrive with their families.
Meanwhile, Rhine and her family continue to coordinate clothing donations for immigrant children.
“Most of the time, it’s not the people who turn themselves in that we’re concerned about. Talking to them is kind of heartbreaking, given the circumstances and situations they’re in.” said Lines.
It remains to be seen if those people will be able to stay, if their children will grow up in America.
Yuma’s changing needs
Although the number of illegal crossings has been declining, it remains at historically high levels. Border Patrol officials say there is still work to be done.
“The job never changes,” said Border Patrol officer Fidel Cabrera. “There have been fewer people coming in the past few weeks, but that doesn’t mean it’s not busy.”
But one new policy has been a big boon for Border Patrol. It is an expansion of a large processing center to temporarily house immigrants awaiting travel to other parts of the country. In addition, the US government has established two processing centers in Guatemala and Colombia.
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The Department of Homeland Security has set up large tents as immigration processing centers. According to the city of Yuma, the processing center for the Yuma Border Protection Department costs the federal government an estimated $42 million per month.
With fewer surrenders per day, border guards can focus more resources on what they call “line enforcement.” It’s about stopping smugglers.
In early June, border agents seized a near-record amount of fentanyl during a stop on Highway 8.
Related: DPS: Over 1 Million Suspected Fentanyl Tablets Seized in Southern Arizona
“This type of arrest is beneficial to the community as a whole if investigators can drive onto highways and roads,” Cabrera said.
While the application process has been made easier for immigrants, Biden’s new policy will tighten penalties for illegal immigrants, giving some immigrants five years of asylum.
“To the President’s credit, he has imposed a five-year ban on anyone caught,” Lines explained. “So some people have become slow. Some people have become a little impatient. That’s why they don’t turn themselves in.”
It’s not just federal efforts that are making a difference at the border. Since the lifting of Title 42, local support has also increased. Earlier this month, Gov. Hobbs announced that he would inject $25 million in state funding to upgrade communications, expand the fleet of vehicles, and increase the workforce.
But local leaders like Yuma Mayor Doug Nichols are still calling for national reform.
“Until we see a dramatic shift in policy and messaging, I’m not going to be in the easy position of saying, ‘This is going to work,'” Nichols said.
He worries that too many immigrants are arriving with false hopes. Most will be deported at great cost. The city of Yuma says the new processing center alone will cost the federal government $42 million a month.
“I think what we really need to do is dig deeper into what the term asylum actually means because, as far as I’ve exposed the people I’ve encountered, it’s life-threatening. Because I believe it’s not asylum applications for people who are in need,” Nichols said. . “It’s more of an economic investigation.”
Family members and their asylum applications
One family arrived for the weekend precisely because of the economic opportunity.
Six-year-old Mateo arrived with his sister and mother on Saturday night, smiling enthusiastically as he told everyone he loved Spider-Man and Batman movies. His family turned in at the border after a six-week trip that cost about $2,000.
His mother’s asylum application is linked to Ecuador’s difficult economic situation. But it’s unclear if that meets the “certain terror” difficulty that qualifies her for her asylum.
For now, Mateo and his family are planning to fly to Minnesota to stay with relatives while they wait for their trial date. But even if he was sent back to Ecuador, Mateo’s mother said it would have been worth a try.
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A family from Ecuador arrived in the US on Saturday. Her mother Miriam hopes her asylum application will be granted.
DNA testing of immigrant children sparks controversy
Until May, border patrol agents were conducting DNA tests on immigrant children to see if they were related to the adults they were traveling with.
A group of Republican senators claims that DNA testing of children was recently stopped. Senator Marsha Blackburn The law reintroduced the Child Trafficking Combat Act, which requires all illegal immigrants at the southern border to verify family ties with accompanying minors before entering the country. The bill would deport adults who refuse to take DNA tests and impose up to 10 years in prison for those who lie about their family ties to minors.
according to DNA testing company AlphaBiolabs, advocacy groups argue that not all family relationships are rooted in biology. Many of the families arriving at the border are foster parents. Advocates also warn of privacy issues and unreliable testing.
The Department of Homeland Security said it could not confirm whether it had stopped DNA testing because of pending lawsuits.
The issue of DNA testing is one example of the uncertainty surrounding the new policies of the Biden administration. It faces lawsuits from both sides of the political spectrum regarding post-Title 42 measures. The asylum ban is seen by one side as too harsh, while the humanitarian parole program is seen as too lenient by the other.
Related: US opposes Trump-era family separation trial
fill the border gap
Last year, 11 gaps remained in the Yuma border fence. In late 2022, former Gov. Doug Ducey made headlines by moving nearly $100 million worth of shipping containers to the border to build a makeshift wall.
Related: Ducie border wall: $95 million to build, $76 million to remove
Several Democratic lawmakers, including current Gov. Katie Hobbs, called the move a costly political stunt. The shipping container wall was abolished following a lawsuit from the federal government and will be demolished in early 2023.
This week, 12News observed that work was underway to fill a ditch near the Morelos Dam where shipping containers once stood. DHS said it had plans to fill some of the remaining gaps, but progress has been slow.
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Construction continues in a gap at the border where former Gov. Doug Ducey previously placed shipping containers. Local leaders say the federal government is not moving quickly enough to close the gap.
“Majorcas promised us 15 or 16 months ago that he would fill nine of the 11 gaps, 1.5 of which have been filled,” Rhine explained.
When asked about progress, Lines said DHS had only one answer: “They’re working on it.”
12News has reached out to DHS for a response to Lines’ allegations. The organization has yet to respond.
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