Freezing migrants face uncertainty at US border
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2022-12-26 16:58
The US' policy on migrants is leaving potentially hundreds of people out in the cold as a winter storm is devastating the country, according to US National Public Radio.
With freezing temperatures, thousands of migrants are stranded in El Paso, Texas, a southern US state that borders Mexico. Local officials provide emergency shelter beds, but only some migrants qualify to stay.
"We went to ask if we could stay in the shelter because my daughter is pregnant," a woman named Adda said to NPR in Spanish. "But they told us no, not without a permit." Adda is from Venezuela.
The shelter is only open to migrants who have immigration paperwork after turning themselves into the Border Patrol, the US immigration authorities.
"We didn't turn ourselves into the Border Patrol for fear they would send us back after all we've suffered to get here," says a woman named Gabriela.
What makes migrants like Gabriela feel fear is a US migration policy called Title 42.
Title 42 is a law enforced by the Border Patrol that gives the government the power to stop people entering the US in order to keep COVID-19 out of the country.
Under Title 42, US Border Patrol can quickly expel migrants from Mexico and northern Central America.
After a hard journey across Central America and Mexico, Venezuelan Antony Rodriguez said he turned down the offer of a shelter because he feared authorities would bus them south, according to a Reuters report.
Title 42 is also one of the reasons why thousands of migrants have arrived in El Paso in recent days. These migrants had anticipated the end of Title 42 this month.
Title 42 is set to expire on Dec 21, but the US Supreme Court temporarily halted the expiration.
On Thursday, the sidewalks near the Greyhound bus station in El Paso were still lined with blankets and makeshift bedding as dozens of migrants tried to keep warm at night.
"We sleep on leftover cardboard pizza boxes inside layers and layers of blankets," said Carlos Areas in Spanish. He recently arrived from Nicaragua.
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