Thousands of migrants continue to converge in a makeshift camp under the bridge that connects Del Rio, Texas and Mexico‘s Ciudad Acuña, in the latest border emergency and humanitarian crisis facing US President Joe Biden.
The camp had swelled to some 10,000 migrants on Thursday, with thousands seen wading across the Rio Grande River daily. Most are Haitians, with some Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans also present.
Amid the surge of the highly infectious Delta variant, the crowded conditions of the camp also raised concerns about the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks endangering the health of the migrants.
Biden, who imposed sweeping vaccination rules on many Americans last week, has admitted that people who cross the border illegally won’t be required to get vaccinated, and the Border Patrol has said that it has insufficient time and space to even test most migrants upon their arrival.
After aerial drone images of the growing camp surfaced Thursday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration, overseen by Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, imposed a two-week flight restriction banning drones from flying in the area, citing unspecified security concerns.
Critics of the administration immediately accused the administration of censorship. ‘It really is ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like that,’ Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, told Fox News of the FAA ruling.
‘The drone footage started this morning, and people all across the country were horrified, and I guess the political operatives at the Biden White House saw that,’ Cruz said in an interview from near the migrant camp.
The FAA told DailyMail.com in a statement on Thursday night: ‘The Border Patrol requested the temporary flight restriction due to drones interfering with law enforcement operations.’
Food and water has been scarce in the makeshift camp, around 20 migrants told Reuters, and temperatures have risen to around 99 Fahrenheit. Reporters witnessed hundreds of migrants wading through the Rio Grande river and back into Mexico to stock up on essentials they say they are not receiving on the American side.
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. walk in the Rio Grande river near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S., as they wait to be processed, in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico on Thursday
The camp had swelled to some 10,000 migrants on Thursday, with thousands seen wading across the Rio Grande River daily. Most are Haitians, with some Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans also present
Food and water has been scarce in the makeshift camp, and temperatures have risen to around 99 Fahrenheit
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. rest near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S. on Thursday
The FAA imposed a two-week flight restriction banning drones from flying in the area, citing unspecified security concerns
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Thursday that he directed state troopers and the Texas National Guard “to shut down six points of entry along the southern border” at the request of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, before reversing himself and blaming the confusion on the Biden administration.
‘Six hours after U.S. Customs and Border Protection requested help from Texas to close ports of entry and secure the border, the Biden Administration has now flip-flopped to a different strategy that abandons border security and instead makes it easier for people to cross illegally and for cartels to exploit the border,’ Abbott said in a statement.
The flight restriction came after Fox News published drone images showing the overcrowded camp
‘The Biden Administration is in complete disarray and is handling the border crisis as badly as the evacuation from Afghanistan. I have directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to maintain their presence at and around ports of entry to deter crossings,’ added the governor.
The squalid conditions in the makeshift camp in Del Rio are reflective of the humanitarian challenge facing Biden as border arrests hover around 20-year highs.
U.S. authorities encountered more than 195,000 migrants at the Mexican border in August, according to government data released on Wednesday.
Haiti is in the midst of its own humanitarian crisis after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on August 14, which killed more than 2,200 people and damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 homes.
The impoverished country is also being wracked by fresh political instability caused by the assassination of its former president Jovenel Moise in June, with the island’s prime minister Ariel Henry since named as a suspect in the investigation.
A CBP official said that there were more than 6,000 migrants waiting under the bridge to be processed on Wednesday, but by Thursday night that number surged to some 10,000, according to a Fox News reporter.
As conditions in the squalid camp deteriorate, some migrants have been crossing back and forth into Mexico to bring back vital supplies.
Ernesto, a 31-year-old Haitian migrant, slipped back into Mexico on Thursday to buy water and food – for the fourth time, he said, since arriving in the United States on Monday morning.
U.S. authorities encountered more than 195,000 migrants at the Mexican border in August, near a 20-year high
As conditions in the squalid camp deteriorate, some migrants have been crossing back and forth into Mexico to bring back vital supplies
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. walk in the Rio Grande river near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S.
Amid the surge of the highly infectious Delta variant, the crowded conditions of the camp also raised concerns about the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks endangering the health of the migrants
Attempting to escape the sweltering heat, migrants bathe in the Rio Grande river near the International Bridge on Thursday
Ernesto, who declined to give his surname to protect his identity, said he and his three-year-old daughter had not been fed at the camp, where migrants are jostling for shade.
Sometimes, he said, he runs to avoid Mexican migration officials but is usually not bothered by them. ‘But now money is running out,’ he added.
Customs and Border Protection did not respond to questions about the number of people in the Del Rio camp.
Migrants showed Reuters tickets with numbers they had received from U.S. Border Patrol. Several said other migrants told them they could be stuck at the camp for up to five days.
Border Patrol said in a statement it was increasing staffing in Del Rio to facilitate a ‘safe, humane and orderly process.’ Drinking water, towels and portable toilets have been provided, the statement added, while migrants wait to be transported to facilities.
Biden, a Democrat who took office in January, has rolled back many of the hardline immigration measures of his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
But he has been caught between pro-migrant groups and some Democrats who have criticized him for not doing more to help migrants, and opponents who say his policies have encouraged illegal immigration.
Border Patrol said in a statement it was increasing staffing in Del Rio to facilitate a ‘safe, humane and orderly process’
Migrants seek shade in a makeshift tent near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S. on Thursday
A CBP official said that there were more than 4,000 migrants waiting under the bridge to be processed on Wednesday, but by Thursday night that number surged to some 10,000, a reporter on the ground said
Del Rio is in Val Verde County, which voted for Trump in 2020. Some residents in this sprawling, bilingual border town say they feel abandoned by the federal government on border security.
‘Are they doing anything to stop them from coming?’ one woman said while she looked down at the encampment while driving over the bridge.
Carlos, a 27-year-old Venezuelan who said he left his home after graduating university in July, said he thought the camp had doubled in size since he arrived on Tuesday. Carlos, who declined to give his full name, said he had only $10 left, and that there were 400 families ahead of him in the queue for processing.
Both migrants and Mexican officials said many more people are expected in coming days. Some told Reuters they had chosen to cross here because the river is shallow and they felt there was comparatively less cartel activity.
Jeff Jeune, a 27-year-old Haitian who was reselling water bottles for a 3 peso (15 cent) profit, said he and his young family were exhausted, hungry and sleeping on the ground. He fretted about his kids falling ill in the makeshift camp.
‘My ten-year-old asks: “When are we leaving?” He’s always asking that.’
Source: dailymail