A southern border city mayor tells Newsweek that without continued federal funding or congressional action for amenities such as housing, consistently deterring illegal migrant flows won’t be “sustainable.”
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser was at the White House on Tuesday, joined by fellow mayors in other Texas border communities like Brownsville and Edinburg, as part of President Joe Biden‘s announcement of an immigration-based executive order intended to curb illegal immigration between ports of entry while simultaneously limiting asylum-seekers.
“Without a bipartisan agreement the funding is gonna be really tough, even with the president’s action [on Tuesday],” Leeser told Newsweek following his visit. “We still need more funding for more judges, we need more funding for transportation, food, lodging—and so this is really only the tip of the iceberg.”
Biden’s enforcement under Immigration and Nationality Act sections 212(f) and 215(a) to suspend asylum processing when numbers exceed 2,500 per day has been met with mixed reaction. Conservatives have accused Biden, whose administration has been admonished for illegal immigration, of pushing forward amnesty rather than border security.
Critics say the order will only lead to more perilous situations for migrants escaping crime and corruption in places like Central and Latin America, while groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have promised legal action against what they compare to Trump-era immigration policy.
Leeser, who, prior to the Washington, D.C., visit, said he was attending as part of a “welcoming community,” said he communicated concerns with both Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He was reportedly told by Mayorkas that federal funding to border communities like El Paso decreased by roughly 16 percent.
Concerns shared included how to get through the summer months as temperatures soar above triple digits, as migrants routinely wander through deserts and unfavorable conditions to seek refuge. That includes riding on trains, which Leeser said has resulted in injuries.
Texas agents watch migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico on June 5. President Joe Biden said he ordered sweeping new migrant curbs to “gain control” of the border.
HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images
The mayor said he was informed last weekend by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that they saved four migrants in the desert.
“It’s become the hope that people will go through this CBP One program, apply for legal entry into the country,” Leeser said. “Without the proper number of judges, it takes five years before you can have a hearing for asylum, and 70 percent or so of them are returned back into their country or deported.
“This will really help make it a better system where they’ll apply for that CBP One program and then have the ability to work immediately.”
The mayor said that he has been communicating with the administration for the past two or three years about ongoing issues, expressing holes in the asylum process that make it “really hard” for migrants to enter the U.S. legally so they can swiftly as possible obtain work permits and provide for their families.
Aside from being turned away and not having employment viability, Leeser said migrants risk losing some or all of their money, falling off trains, and getting hurt climbing border walls. Women are often prone to sexual assault.
Leeser said there is a consensus between him, other border mayors, and the federal government on how legal immigration should realistically operate.
Common ground has to be found, he said, somewhere between the 2,500 to 3,000 illegal entry attempts El Paso has witnessed—to the 800 or 900 migrants sleeping in local airports.
“We know that this is a small step,” he said. “It’s a broken immigration process, and without a bipartisan agreement, [we] won’t have a good chance of fixing it.”
He added, “We can help people provide transportation to the destination of their choice, and it’s been very, very rewarding that we treat people with respect. We treat people with dignity. We’ve had some huge numbers, and one of the things that people need to know because we see it every day—we’re here day in and day out—[is that] this is not sustainable. This cannot continue.”
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.