Hordes of migrants flock to US border – Record number in relation to 2022 (photos)

Thousands of migrants have crossed into the US illegally in recent days, crossing the border from California and Texas, with many more arriving by bus and freight train to Mexican border towns.

Enrique Lucero, director of the immigration service at Tijuana of Mexico, said immigration flows have slowed since the new US policy was announced in May. However, in recent weeks there has been a renewed surge in the number of migrants, with officials counting people in the city from 65 different countries.

Hundreds of migrants are waiting at the Mexico-US border after they have been unable to make online appointments through the CBP One app for US authorities to review their asylum claims. However, there are many who do not wish to wait, as there are 1,450 appointments available for each day, and try to cross into the US illegally.

In the past 8 days CBP has processed more than 5,000 requests of immigrants in the San Diego area, according to a local official. In the El Paso area, 1,000 appointments are being made daily in recent days.

Many migrants are also arriving in the city of Eagle Pass, which on Tuesday requested additional funding to deal with the increased flow of migrants, while railroad operator Union Pacific has suspended services to Mexico.

Big, dangerous journey and record number

A record number of approx 82,000 people entered last month to Panama from Latin America, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), crossing the dangerous Darien jungle.

Even half a million people may cross this dangerous passage by the end of the yeardouble the number compared to 2022, according to Giuseppe Loprete, head of the IOM in Panama.

Record numbers of migrants arriving in Mexico are coming from other continents, as the route to the US’s southern border emerges as a global migration route.

Read about: US-Mexico border world’s deadliest migrant ‘crossing’ – Some bodies never found

“Unfortunately, the picture is that many countries have turned into states that expel their citizens,” complained Giovanni Lepri, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Mexico. He explained that violence, economic hardship and the increasing effects of climate change are causing mass displacement of people from Central and Latin America, but also from elsewhere.

The number of African migrants recorded so far this year by Mexican authorities is already triple the 2022 total.

“It’s a structural, deeper problem. There is an acute crisis worldwide, in many countries. People don’t leave their countries because they want to, they do it because there is a need“, emphasized Mexican President Manuel Andres López Obrador.

New pre-election challenge for Biden

After several months of declining numbers of immigrants entering the US illegally, the current large increase in inflows is a new challenge for US President Joe Biden, especially ahead of the election season.

Biden unveiled a new policy in May aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from entering the country, barring those caught without legal documents on US soil from applying for asylum for five years.

One month after the adoption of the new legislation, illegal border crossings fell by around 70%.

But the recent increase in immigration flows, combined with the large numbers of people heading to the US from Central and Latin America, suggest that this policy is no longer a deterrent.

Experts say the US lacks the ability to apprehend and process migrants at the border, meaning the tough measures announced in May are effectively not being implemented. As a result, some asylum seekers who enter the US illegally are released and not deported, as required by law.

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