Biden’s border crisis has nothing to do with borders

“For Americans, the most obvious sign of an increasing influx of immigrants is children.” My colleagues wrote. The Biden administration continues the Trump era policy of expelling most unauthorized adult immigrants. But the officials decided Acceptance of unaccompanied children. “

However, the reality is more a continuation than a change. The same inadequate facilities that housed thousands of underage asylum seekers during the Trump era are Packed again under Biden. Thousands of migrants are deported or expelled at the border every day. Local officials, aid workers and migrant advocates have longstanding complaints about the backlog of asylum claims and border authorities are ill-equipped to act as guardians of fearful and desperate children.

“The emergencies of the past decade are in fact three chapters of the same struggle: There has been a mass exodus from Central America, as families and children have tried to escape violence, poverty and government corruption,” Jonathan Blitzer wrote from The New Yorker. “The border immigration system, established in the 1990s, with single adults in mind looking for work from Mexico, was, It is not designed to deal with residents seeking asylum on this scale. On average, it takes nearly two and a half years to resolve an asylum application, and there is now a backlog of 1.3 million cases pending, up from half a million under Obama.

Moreover, according to analysts, the new influx began nearly a year ago in April. But it has risen recently due to a combination of factors, Inform my colleagues. “Economic crises caused by epidemics, Two hurricanes devastated Central America, the end of strict coronavirus lockdowns, and the perception that the Biden administration would be more tolerant of immigration. “

The main countries involved are the three countries of the so-called Northern Triangle in Central America: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. For years, countries have suffered from devastating governance, natural disasters and epidemics of violence triggered by gangs and cartels.

“If the alternative is starvation, gang violence, kidnapping, rape, or sexual slavery, wouldn’t you bet on all of that on a trip north?”

The Biden administration, more than its ultra-national predecessor, understands that the solutions to what it describes as the “challenge” on the borders lie in the far south. Biden announced shortly after taking office A $ 4 billion plan to invest in the Northern Triangle countries Roughly doubling US aid to those countries with a list of programs aimed at helping improve the quality of life, restructure security forces and combat both gang violence and official corruption. The White House appointed Vice President Harris earlier this month in his capacity Pointed Person in his efforts to address the “root causes” of the Central American migration northward.

Then there is the long and indistinguishable record of the United States in trying to help develop and reform these countries. Why, after so many decades of systematic support by the United States directed at the structural challenges of Central America, has the situation in the region not significantly improved for millions of its people? Luis Guillermo Solis asked, The former President of Costa Rica, in an article presenting the challenges of American policymaking in the Northern Triangle. What are the factors that have hindered and continue to hinder the aspirations of Central Americans who endure the hardships of life dominated by fear, expulsion, disease, corruption and hunger?

Solis pointed to a history of US agencies mis spending in the region, but more importantly, that A series of well-established local factors: A legacy of “undemocratic, unjust, repressive, and oppressive political regimes, largely dominated by cronyism, authoritarian practices, state-sponsored violence and a lack of respect for the rule of law” that have now led to fragile institutions and endemic corruption in states.

Of course, The United States in the past played a major role – It is often negative A role in securing these clientelistic systems. Now, though, the Biden administration may focus more on upgrading the emerging civil society in the region. There is a lot of corruption. It’s really endemic and spread through a lot of government structures, ”said a US official. Oliver Knox in The Daily 202. “We will make sure that the right types of safeguards are in place so that we know our assistance has a real impact.”