The situation at the Texas border is very complicated for migrants who are at risk, They live in inhumane conditions in their struggle to find the "American dream," as they face high temperatures, human trafficking, extortion, robbery, and assault by criminal groups, all without guarantee of entering the United States.
This situation worries many due to the measures implemented by the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, which put thousands of people at risk who want to cross the Rio Grande or through other extremely dangerous places, and which have caused casualties in their popularity and support, a scenario that will subtract or add points in the next elections.
This was stated by a group of specialists during a press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services, in which Manuel Ortiz, sociologist and audiovisual journalist, specified that the situation is very difficult for migrants who put their lives at risk to cross.
Ortiz is in Texas touring the territory and talking with the people involved. From the lens of his camera he shows the real world that is lived at the border where pregnant women, men and children find themselves in inhumane conditions, being in that place feels like "a war zone," the journalist said.
"Yesterday when I was in Eagle Pass I found a group of 30 to 35 migrants who had crossed the border and it is very sad to say that there are people who are smuggling people, but not only that, people can cross at temperatures up to 150 degrees at noon, this is at the indication of the smugglers when they point out that there are fewer border patrols when the heat is higher, that is something very risky, “he explained.
He also commented that among local journalists there is talk of a close connection between the authorities and the traffickers who take advantage of the situation of the migrants to extort them, physically abuse them or even make them disappear.
In addition, Manuel Ortiz spoke about an experience he had with a policeman who stopped him saying that he had exceeded the speed limit, but also to ask him several questions and ask him about his opinion about Greg Abbott.
The policeman replied that he could not give his opinion, but personally said that he did not agree with certain measures, while several people at the border no longer support the governor for his strong measures with migrants.
The opinion of this policeman is that of many people on the border who do not correctly see the measures that their governor is taking and this takes away their political force in the face of the upcoming elections.
Gianna Borroto, representative of the American Immigration Council explained how things changed at the end of Title 42, the measure that was implemented during the pandemic.
He explained that, to request asylum, you must now make an appointment through the application CBP One from the United States Customs and Border Protection, however, is not a convenient measure, since many migrants do not have access to the internet, a smartphone or even the ability to understand the use of the application.
Borroto commented that the language is also a problem «even if you have a phone with the extension, you have to be able to navigate, even if it is in a language that they do not understand or cannot read or write, because the application is only available in three languages: English, Spanish and Haitian.
After a survey among migrants from the southern border, the results showed that many of them spoke more than 20 different languages, including indigenous languages that limit the ability to make an appointment, added to this, only 1,450 appointments are available throughout the border. , and are determined by a lottery system.
Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University and author of several books, noted that throughout the history of the United States, attempts have been made to create an effective immigration system with better and worse measures regardless of the political party present.
«I believe that the hope of the Democrats is that the border and the immigration issue are not massive issues in 2024, because the Democrats feel that this could be an advantage for the Republicans, which is why these cases will not have much prominence by 2024.», commented
for the teacher Jillson, the selection process with the 24 candidates, will probably favor the Republicans in the primaries, however, it will result against them in the general elections, so former President Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee, but he will be ousted in general electionhe explained.
On the other hand, he said that Governor Greg Abbott does not let anyone go to his right, and he is appealing to that 3 or 5 percent Texan that forms the majority, and since there are few people who go to the Republican primary, win a Republican in Texas would put the governor in a dominant position in the election.
Although migrants will not stop arriving at the United States border, the solution is not to prevent them from passing at all costs, at the end of the day migrants are people who are looking for a better life opportunity and that life must be respected.
From the human and close contact of the journalist Manuel Ortiz's camera, the defense of the rights and the demands by Gianna Borroto, representative of the American Immigration Council, to the political panorama of Professor Cal Jillson, everything shows a distant reality to both governments, which are not doing what is necessary to protect human lives that are already in danger today.
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