More than 11,000 asylum seekers are already crowded on the Mexican side of the southern border in sheltering encampments, waiting for an opportunity to cross into the United States, as a huge caravan of migrants continues its path north.
Approximately 3,800 asylum seekers from Mexico, Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba are gathered in Tijuana, Mexico, CNN reported.
Another group of about 3,723 migrants is biding their time in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas.
A crowd of 4,000 asylum seekers also wait in Matamoros, Mexico, scattered in camps, shelters and abandoned homes.
The migrants hope to take advantage of a federal parole program introduced by the Biden administration earlier this year and cross legally; However, Glady Cañas, who runs a nonprofit that provides services to asylum seekers in Matamoros, said those waiting are starting to feel “desperate.” she told CNN.
Meanwhile, immigrants are illegally crossing the southern border into the United States in record numbers.
Nearly a quarter of a million people attempted to cross the besieged border in November – the highest number for November and the third-highest monthly total on record.
Thousands of migrants wait on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border amid the border surge. Getty Images Immigrants hoping to cross through official channels are becoming “desperate.” AP
There were 242,418 encounters last month, according to the latest figures released Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
December is on track to hit an all-time high.
A migrant caravan that could grow to as many as 15,000 people is also slowly moving toward the border after leaving Tapachula, Mexico, on the border with Guatemala, on Christmas Eve.
Border officials have seen a massive increase in the number of Haitians, Guatemalans, Cubans and Nicaraguans trying to enter the United States to take advantage of a Biden administration parole program for those nations.
Migrants continue walking in a caravan in an attempt to reach the border with the United States, in Escuintla, Mexico, December 28, 2023 REUTERS Migrants hope to gain access through a federal parole program introduced by the Biden administration. REUTERS
However, many of them still gather at official ports of entry, such as airports or seaports, before applying for the program.
The backlog of pending immigration cases under President Biden has reached record levels, rising to more than three million pending cases in November, according to a new report.
According to data from Syracuse University’s Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), the backlog has increased by one million new cases in one year.
Migrants take a break on the side of the road before continuing to walk in a caravan in an attempt to reach the border with the United States, in Escuintla, Mexico, December 28, 2023. REUTERS
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Source: vtt.edu.vn