The Unending Surge of Migrants is Creating a Public Health Crisis

Migrants take part in a caravan towards the border with the United States in Tapachula, Chiapas State, Mexico, on October 30, 2023

As a physician, I tend to view the burgeoning migrant border crisis as much as a public health emergency as it is a national security emergency. The distinction is becoming more and more blurred, since the 2 million or more migrants who have crossed our southern border illegally over the past year — many supposedly seeking asylum — present both problems.

Don’t get me wrong: Many of the millions who have escaped Venezuela or Central America for economic and political reasons certainly have legitimate causes to leave their countries. But we don’t have the public health infrastructure here to absorb them all, not to mention the burdens on our local and state economies. At the same time, deadly fentanyl is pouring across our porous border, posing a huge medical risk of overdoses all across the country.

From a public health point of view, we are hardly prepared to handle such huge numbers of migrants, many of whom have chronic health issues or other acute problems… (Continue to full article)

Voters Want Control of the Border, but Do They Want Trump Immigrant Roundups and Detention Camps?

Even though Americans support immigration, they have been willing to accept tougher prescriptions for enforcement — and their willingness could test how far hard-liners can go in 2024 with anti-immigrant proposals.

Democrats, like Republicans, have been joining the drumbeat that there is a “crisis” at the border as the numbers of people the Border Patrol says it encounters hit record levels.

Amid all this, former President Donald Trump promises to expand on the hard-line immigration policies of his first term, setting off alarm bells among immigration advocates and even some Republican conservatives.

Meanwhile, leaders in blue cities that have long welcomed immigrants complain of stretched resources with the influx of newcomers shuttled from Texas and other states. Dividing lines are emerging as immigrants who have worked for years without legal status see newly arrived asylum-seekers from countries like Venezuela get work permits.

Any “show me your papers” policies or Operation Wetback-like roundups could easily ensnare Latino Americans… (Continue to full article)

States Are Spending Millions to Send Migrants Somewhere Else

States spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to ship migrants elsewhere this year.

What started as a GOP political stunt ahead of the midterms has led states and cities of both parties to spend significant resources to help migrants and asylum seekers reach other parts of the country.

The U.S. has a resettlement process for refugees that ensures they are placed in communities prepared to support them, but there is no such national coordination for migrants and asylum seekers.

Responding to historic levels of migration throughout the Americas has come with high costs across the board in the U.S.

I say, “SEND THEM HOME“… (Continue to full article)

Border Patrol Takes Drastic Action as Thousands of Immigrants Illegally Enter Tucson Daily

Arizona Border Patrol

Border Patrol leadership in the Tucson region of Arizona is calling for “all hands on deck” to respond to an “unprecedented surge” of illegal immigrants , the Washington Examiner has learned.

Federal law enforcement agents in southeastern Arizona sounded the alarm in conversations with the Washington Examiner on Monday, disclosing that agents have been pulled from manning the highway checkpoints, canceled all training classes, and even diverted from desk jobs, such as posting updates on the organization’s local social media, a sign of how strained the agency has become responding to thousands crossing in just one part of the southern border each day.

“As you are aware, Tucson Sector is experiencing an unprecedented surge of illegal entries in our [area of responsibility],” Tucson leadership wrote in an email to agents this afternoon, according to a copy obtained by the Washington Examiner on Monday. “[T]his morning we had more than 5,000 people in custody – far more than our holding capacity.”… (Continue to full article)