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New record for migrants at the border: "It is one of the most difficult challenges," admits the Government

2021-08-12T22:05:31.648Z


Crossings grow by 13% to 212,000 in July, the highest figure in 21 years: "It is a complicated, changing situation and involves a vulnerable population in times of a global pandemic," said the Secretary of Homeland Security.


The number of migrants intercepted after crossing the border with Mexico in an irregular manner soared in July, with more than 212,000 arrests according to data from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

It is an increase in illegal crossings of 13% compared to June, when 188,000 encounters were recorded along the border, and a mark that

surpasses all the records of the last two decades.

By comparison, in July of last year there were just over 40,000 arrests.

Most of the detained migrants traveled as a family

, about 82,866.

And nearly 19,000 were children traveling without their parents or guardians.

Migrants cross the border near Roma, Texas, on May 11, 2021.AP / Migrants cross the border near Roma, Texas

The Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, visited the border this Thursday, now that the Administration faces the challenge of dealing with the massive arrival of immigrants in the midst of a new wave of coronavirus.

"The situation on the border is one of the most difficult challenges we face,"

said Mayorkas from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where the crossings have been concentrated and where the government has set up camps in public parks to quarantine hundreds of migrants who were infected or were with someone who tested positive for the virus.

"It is a complicated, changing situation and involves a vulnerable population in times of a global pandemic," added the secretary.

[Abbott issues executive order to limit the transportation of migrants in Texas who may transmit COVID-19]

Mayorkas warned that

most of the detained migrants

- more than 95,000 -

were expeditiously expelled to Mexico under Title 42

, a health guideline promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent the spread. of COVID-19, which has resulted in

a restriction of the right to asylum.

He also specified that 27% of the arrests corresponded to people who had already been detained at least once in the last 12 months, which points to a significant percentage of migrants who remain on the border with Mexico after being expelled and return. to try to cross.

Figures reported monthly by CBP measure the number of arrests, not individuals crossing the border, which in this case were

just over 154,000

.

The dramatic panorama at the border forces the installation of new camps for immigrants

Aug. 4, 202101: 59

Mayorkas also clarified that

the positivity rate among migrants who are tested for COVID-19 is lower than that of the general population.

We are "expanding our capacities to deal with this situation and we are doing it as quickly as possible," said the secretary.

According to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security consulted by our sister network NBC News, 18% of migrant families and 20% of unaccompanied minors tested positive for COVID-19 when they were released from CBP custody.

Migrants are not tested for COVID-19 in Border Patrol custody unless they show symptoms, but all undergo diagnostic tests when they leave custody, according to DHS officials.

[No, the increase in COVID-19 cases is not the fault of immigrants]

Those who test positive for the coronavirus after being released are quarantined in shelters, hotels and more recently in tents that have been installed in public parks in the border counties of Texas.

Other measures that federal authorities have taken to deal with the massive arrival of immigrants include the resumption of express deportation processes for families who do not express fear of being persecuted, if they are returned to their places of origin; and new flights to transport individuals expelled under Title 42 directly to Central America and southern Mexico.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-08-12

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