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US, Mexican Authorities Intervene on 1K Migrants Surging at Border Crossing

    US, Mexican Authorities Intervene on 1K Migrants Surging at Border Crossing
    Last updated Mar 13, 2023
    Image credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images [via Daily Mail]

    Facts

    • The US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) and the Mexican military Sunday had to defend the Juarez, Mexico-El Paso, Texas border against more than 1K migrants who tried to rush the US port of entry.[1]
    • Authorities used traffic barriers, barbed wire, and agents in riot gear to hold off the migrants trying to pass through the Paso del Norte bridge. CBP said similar situations occurred at the Bridge of the Americas and the Stanton crossing.[2]
    • Mario D’Agostino, the El Paso deputy city manager, said that the crowds had subsided and there was no breach of the border. CBP reopened the Paso del Norte bridge Sunday evening.[3]
    • Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have recently had trouble securing asylum appointments via a new US government app. Some of the migrants threw a barrier at the US side, while others claimed they were pepper sprayed.[4]
    • The port of entry, which was where Pres. Biden made his first trip to the border in January, has seen a surge of illegal entries in recent months, with CBP encountering a total of more than 2.3M migrants in the fiscal year 2022.[5]

    Spin

    Republican narrative

    This incident proves the US is being practically invaded by drug cartels, who use illegal migrants to commit violence and smuggle lethal drugs across the border. Biden’s government has ignored its constitutional duty to protect the border, which is why states should allocate all resources necessary to combat the criminals crossing into their cities and terrorizing their citizens.

    Democratic narrative

    This incident was not part of an invasion but was caused by online miscommunication and technical problems. The migrants had been misinformed on Facebook that the port of entry was open because it was "Migrants' Day." Others were eager to cross because the asylum app's interface wouldn’t work. This was an unfortunate, avoidable incident, not a product of the administration’s border policy.

    Political split

    LEFT

    RIGHT

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