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‘Capturing the humanity’: photographer records scenes at the US border

03:10

The US has ended a COVID-19 border restriction that has blocked many migrants at the frontier with Mexico, leading thousands to make a last minute attempt to get into the US.

However, the order known as Title 42 was immediately replaced with a sweeping new asylum regulation meant to deter illegal crossings, with many migrants believing it would make it harder to stay in the US once crossing the border.

The consequent confusion led to reports of frantic scenes at crossings along the frontier. Francisco Vasquez, a US photographer who has been capturing the drama in the cities of Ciudad Juarez and El Paso described the situation to CGTN Europe as “very eye opening.”

“I’m trying to capture the humanity, the intimate moments, just for people to see that these are humans, people just like us,” he says.

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In the Texas city of El Paso, hundreds of migrants were reportedly sleeping outside on American soil by the border fence as the sun rose on Friday morning. Texas National Guard, state troopers and border agents patrol the area where migrants are waiting to be processed by US border authorities.

The end of the Title 42 rules has prompted many migrants to head to the border.  /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

The end of the Title 42 rules has prompted many migrants to head to the border. /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

The end of the Title 42 rules has prompted many migrants to head to the border. /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Across the border in Ciudad Juarez a day earlier, migrant shelters were half full, holding about 1,600 people. Many of the migrants were planning to apply for legal US entry via an app called CBP One, according to the shelter directors.

In total, thousands of migrants have reportedly entered US territory in recent days, hoping to be processed before the new rules took effect. However, things were calmer at the border than many media evaluations, Vasquez said.

A journalist friend in Juarez told him that the streets were “pretty much empty compared to two weeks ago. They’ve closed down the wall, people are being processed.”

The photographer added that as the issue has become a political football for US Democrats and opposition Republicans, it was urgent to detoxify the situation and show some compassion to those trying to make the crossing.

Vasquez says he hopes to show those making the border run

Vasquez says he hopes to show those making the border run “are humans, people just like us.” /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Vasquez says he hopes to show those making the border run “are humans, people just like us.” /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

“There are families, children, there are good people there who want to come here and be productive citizens and contribute to society,” he said.

Depoliticizing the issue was key, Vasquez added.

“I spoke with a police officer in El Paso on my second to last day… I asked them what was happening within those two weeks from when I first started and the first thing he did was bring up the President of the United States.”

“That’s what I’m hoping to change,” he says, “that we don’t veer off into our own political parties and actually look at the situation as a humanitarian crisis, because that’s what it is.”

Change in the law

The Title 42 regulation presumes most migrants will not be granted asylum if they are passed through other countries without first seeking protection elsewhere – or if they fail to use legal pathways for US entry.

Trump first implemented the rule in March 2020 as COVID-19 swept the globe, with US health officials claiming it was needed to curb the spread of the virus in detention facilities.

The order allowed American authorities to quickly send migrants back to Mexico or other countries without a chance to request US asylum.

Many migrants who made the trip are now waiting for processing in the US city of El Paso.  /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Many migrants who made the trip are now waiting for processing in the US city of El Paso. /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Many migrants who made the trip are now waiting for processing in the US city of El Paso. /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Democrats, public health experts and immigration advocates at the time claimed this was an extension of Trump’s quest to block migrants at the border.

However, just before Title 42 was set to expire at midnight on Thursday, advocates immigration sued the current government over the new laws, claiming that Biden’s Democrats had simply expanded Trump’s rules, which they say are in violation of US laws and international agreements.

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has defended them, saying they aim to encourage migrants to enter using legal pathways rather than crossing illegally.

“It’s going to be a tough transition,” Mayorkas told MSNBC.

Millions of explosions

Migrants have been expelled more than 2.7 million times under Title 42 since the law was brought into effect. Mexico has generally only accepted certain nationalities – its own citizens, migrants from northern Central America and more recently migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua.

Therefore, during the same period, around 2.8 million ineligible migrants for expulsion were allowed into the US under a process known as Title 8 to pursue their immigration claims in court, which can take months or years.

In fact, since the end of the pandemic, Biden’s administration has seen record numbers of migrants hoping to cross the US-Mexico border.

Vasquez says the two main US parties need to find some common ground on immigration policy.  /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Vasquez says the two main US parties need to find some common ground on immigration policy. /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

Vasquez says the two main US parties need to find some common ground on immigration policy. /Francisco Vasquez/@cisconyc

The new asylum rule, Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and other officials Biden say, is aimed at spreading the message that those who attempt illegal crossings will face consequences.

However, critics of the Democrat’s new immigration rules say they are too lax, with many in the US strongly opposed to new arrivals coming to the country.

With the Democrats and opposition Republicans accusing of treating the issue like a political football, Vasquez said that the two parties needed to find some common ground to address the issue.

“Immigration is something that’s always been happening and it’s going to continue,” he pointed out. “So I guess we can start by not politicizing the issue.”

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Source(s): Reuters