Some 80,000 South American migrants are amassed in Guatemala and planning to head for the US-Mexico border, government sources tell The Post.
Other migrants who have already made the journey are flooding the southern border, overwhelming US Customs and Border protection by handing themselves over in their thousands daily ahead of the end of Title 42 measures on May 11.
Things are only expected to get worse when the pandemic-era restriction ends, with tens of thousands of migrants camped along the Mexican side of the border, planning to head into the US.
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents some 450 miles of the southern border, said he learned of the hordes of migrants while speaking to the Guatemalan president.
“There are 80,000 illegals cutting though Guatemala right now,” the Republican told The Post, adding the alarming figure prompted him to call the Biden Administration to share the information.
“I called the White House and no one is picking up,” the exasperated US Representative added.
The migrants are understood to be from multiple South and Central American countries and are making their way through Guatemala toward Mexico.
Meanwhile, in return for US aid, Mexico has also been working to bolster its own border enforcement and The Post has also learned of a camp run by the country’s immigration officials just over the border from Guatemala in Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas.
Mexican reports say there are a further 60,000 migrants held there and The Nation reports, “Protests, hunger strikes, and clashes with police are common.”
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents some 450 miles of the southern border, said he learned of the hordes of migrants while speaking to the Guatemalan president.
Nearly 80,000 South American migrants in Guatemala are planning to head for the US-Mexico border.
Juan Manuel Blanco/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Gonzales said he is in frequent communication with the Central American president and has visited Guatemala, as the country plays a critical role in movement of migrants north.
It’s unknown when or how many of the 80,000 migrants hoping to reach the US will make it to the southern border, but the US is already bracing for up to 13,000 migrants a day trying to enter the US when Title 42 ends.
The pandemic-era policy has been used to keep millions of migrants from claiming asylum in the US will end at 11:59 p.m. May 11.
Migrants have started to pour over the border, with close to 81,000 attempting to cross in the last 10 days, according to Border Patrol statistics. The agency also admitted an estimated further 26,000 had entered the country and evaded detection during that time.
Others waiting for Thursday so they can enter a legal asylum claim have started to gather near US border cities. In El Paso — the busiest border crossing in the US — migrants have set up tents just feet from where they plan to surrender themselves to US officials.
The city’s mayor, Oscar Leeser has also said he is aware of a migrant caravan 3,500 strong is expected to arrive in his area this week as Title 42 ends.
“No one’s talking about encampments that are getting built out,” Gonzales told The Post after touring the El Paso border last week. “They’re just going to grow.”
Just across from El Paso in Juarez, the Mexican government has estimated 35,000 asylum-seekers are waiting to get in — one of the factors triggering Leeser to declare a state of emergency in the county for a second time.
In Tijuana, near San Diego, up to 16,000 migrants could potentially cross over after Thursday. In Brownsville, the very Eastern tip of the Texas border with Mexico, 15,000 migrants crossed into the US last week, more than border agents in the area could handle.
“Border Patrol is just trying to keep their head above water; they’re completely overwhelmed,” Gonzales explained.
Mexico has also been working to increase its own border enforcement.
He added that in the El Paso area alone, immigration officials have started releasing 600-700 migrants — without criminal records — who would normally been thrown out of the country, simply due to manpower, not enough agents to do the work.
They’re being released with a “notice to appear,” GPS trackers and expected in federal immigration court on an assigned day.
“All that’s going to do is encourage more people to come over,” he said. “Title 42 has already been canceled.”
* Article From: The New York Post
