BROWNSVILLE — Texas border communities have division when it comes to immigration. On Tuesday Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared an invasion at the border.
The first Texas bus of migrants has departed for Philadelphia.
The Lone Star State will continue doing more than any state in history to secure our border, including adding more sanctuary cities as drop-off locations for our busing strategy. pic.twitter.com/caIUpjsGR4
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 15, 2022
Abbott just secured a third term as governor last week and continues to take a hard approach when it comes to the border. Shortly after declaring the invasion, a federal judge blocked Title 42, a rule that allowed the expulsion of migrants at the US-Mexico border, restoring access for some asylum seekers.
Federal Judge blocks federal authorities from using Title 42.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 15, 2022
This will further signal to cartels, human smugglers, & illegal immigrants that the border is wide open—inciting more violence & lawlessness.
Disastrous.https://t.co/IrK0jkvtGw
The judge said the policy did not serve its purpose, because COVID-19 had already been widespread throughout the United States when the policy was rolled out.
“Title 42 was never about public health, and this ruling finally ends the charade of using Title 42 to bar desperate asylum seekers from even getting a hearing,” American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement.
Some in border communities in Texas agree with Abbott and believe that Title 42 needs to remain.
"Our country has always had a welcoming sign but there is a way of doing things legally," said Jose Gamez.
Gamez was once a Democrat but is now a Republican, one of the biggest reasons for making the switch was the border and abortion.
"There are some people that do need to have refuge here in the U.S., but our Government has failed them to this point," said Gamez.
A group of people 55 and older in Brownsville welcome the migrants. Each day waking up to serve people like Alex.
"I am leaving because of politics and economics," said Alex, 19, from Nicaragua.
Alex was one of the couple hundred going through a non-profit team in Brownsville. The group had been fingerprinted and release by the U.S. Border Patrol.
"I want to have a chance at a better life," said Alex.
He plans to work and send the money back to his family to the poorest country in Central America.
Are Migrants safe?
Immigration-crime research over the past 20 years has corroborated the conclusions of a number of early 20th-century presidential commissions. There are some individual exceptions, but shows immigrants commit fewer crimes, on average, than native-born Americans.
FBI crime data shows some communities along the U.S.-Mexico border have lower violent crime rates than other U.S. cities the same size.
- El Paso, Texas, is a city of 681,000, and a violent crime 318 per 100,000 residents.
- Del Rio, Texas — has 36,000 people, had a violent crime rate of 162.4.
- Calexico, California; Nogales, Arizona; and the Texas cities of Del Rio, Eagle Pass, and McAllen all had violent crime rates below 190.
Migrants at the Border
U.S. authorities stopped migrants more than 230,000 times on the Mexican border in October. It's the highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency growing numbers from Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, and other countries.
Some on the border believe not knowing where migrants are all coming from makes it dangerous and drives up the crime rate.
"The drug cartels are making an incredible amount of money," said Gamez.
While it's true that drug cartels continue to make money off of migrants research shows that border downs remain safe.
