Commentary: On March 27, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner (CBP) Kevin McAleenan visited the El Paso field sector and held a press conference highlighting the “humanitarian crisis at the border” (his words). He announced that CBP will be performing direct releases of migrants when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is unable to provide bed space to relieve overcrowding. McAleenan estimated that 55,000 families, including 40,000 children, are expected to enter the immigration process this month. To handle this increased flow of immigrants, mostly from Central America, 750 CBP officers have been assigned to the Border Patrol (BP), and CBP has been authorized to reassign up to 2,000 agents. In some sectors of the border, up to 40 percent of BP officers are engaged in just the care, transport, and processing of migrants – these agents are not on the line providing security functions.
CBP is the largest agency in the immigration cycle with 45,000 uniformed professionals, and 60,000 total employees. ICE Removal Operations only has 6,000 people, so a large funnel goes from a large border agency to the small funnel of a detention/removal agency. Backups and overflows in the system occur when CBP apprehends more people than ICE can process and hold. Also playing a major role at the border is the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which uses a grant-based system to find private providers for care of children, and this is a very difficult system to administer. At present, the system can only process a fraction of the thousands of migrants waiting in gymnasiums and hostels across northern Mexico. Some migrants have taken it upon themselves to try to storm into the U.S. side at a port of entry, knowing that once they step on U.S. soil, they will have to automatically be processed by CBP officials.
Agents can take up three hours to process an asylum case at the border before transporting the person to a clinic or hospital for a medical exam. Generally, two agents are required to accompany during this type of visit. Migrants detained at the border also need to be fed, so that can soak up other agents’ time. Very quickly, duties at a border crossing can be shifted from processing private vehicle and commercial traffic to processing migrants turning themselves in to seek asylum. These increases crossing times at the border, creating inefficiencies in supply chains, which could result in higher costs for American consumers.
The whole situation is like watching a train wreck in slow motion and being surprised when the crash actually occurs. We have had months - no years - to address the immigration issue. And where has the leadership been to address this issue? A wall? This proposal has almost no relevance in the current situation, as the vast majority of migrants are surrendering at official ports of entry. They are avoiding trying to illegally cross into the U.S. and be absorbed into the general population. Doing so would most likely void their attempt to be considered for asylum.
Completely closing the border? This is akin to having a headache, taking out a pistol, and shooting yourself in the foot. Uttering this threat can cause desperate migrants to leave their shelters in Mexico and rush ports of entry in a panicked attempt to enter the U.S. and be processed before the border is closed - not to mention the devastating disruption that would occur to the U.S. economy as $1.7 billion of trade crosses the U.S.-Mexico border daily, and millions of American jobs depend on trade with Mexico. This also is disruptive to supply chain managers who have to spend time planning and strategically moving suppliers around in case this threat is acted upon.
A halt of aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador? Yes, let’s create more chaos and misery in these countries so that more economically desperate migrants will come to our southern border seeking asylum. U.S. involvement in these countries is needed more than ever to stabilize the situation.
And what about Congress? The immigration issue, who gets preference to come to the U.S., and which asylum seekers are allowed to stay has been kicked down the road like an empty can for years. This body must immediately authorize monies to support the efforts of CBP, ICE, and HHS personnel on the border. More boots on the ground and better technology are needed by these agencies. The U.S. also must reverse its trend toward isolationist nationalism or the problems of other nations in our hemisphere will quickly become our own problems, as is evidenced by the current situation.
Finally, it is obvious that our immigration laws and the way we accept people permanently and temporarily into this country while they seek permanent residence are not working. The political tit-for-tat that all of us are sick of needs to end, and a bipartisanship approach to developing effective immigration law needs to occur. The current humanitarian crisis at the border offers a golden opportunity for lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to come together and show the American public that Congress is still capable of acting in our country’s best interest rather than further slipping into pettiness and divisiveness. At minimum, this is what we should demand from our legislators. Meanwhile, agents, support groups, and communities at the border will be overwhelmed, and desperate migrants will keep coming while we continue to watch this train wreck.
Jerry Pacheco is Executive Director of the International Business Accelerator, a non-profit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network, and the President/CEO of the Border Industrial Association. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or jerry@nmiba.com