JUÁREZ, Mexico — Members of the Texas National Guard on Tuesday ordered hundreds of asylum-seekers from U.S. territory back into Mexico in apparent violation of U.S. law.
Hundreds of migrants breached reams of concertina wire at the El Paso-Juárez border over the past two days, forming a line along the south side of the U.S. border fence inside U.S. territory to seek asylum or formal entry into the U.S.
Just after midday, National Guard soldiers could be seen ordering migrants to return to Mexico through the Rio Grande.
“That is 100% illegal,” said Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for the Washington Office on Latin America. “These are people who may face a danger to their lives on the other side of the border. Forcing them back, especially if they have set foot on U.S. soil goes against the Refugee Act of 1980.”
The Texas Military Department didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
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The Biden administration implemented several “legal pathways” earlier this year for migrants, including Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans — an attempt to reduce irregular immigration that was successful for the first three months. But both the humanitarian parole and CBP One appointment programs are oversubscribed, and some migrants said they couldn’t keep waiting.
Pushed back into Mexico, dozens walked farther east along the concrete river canal to attempt crossing again.
Helen, a 25-year-old Venezuelan woman, was among them.
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National Guard Humvees and SUVs belonging to the Texas Department of Public Safety were lined up along the border fence; U.S. Border Patrol wasn’t at the site.
As migrants milled about on the Mexican side, soldiers could be seen unrolling more concertina wire, laying the silver coils in the river.
* ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2023/09/19/texas-national-guard-order-asylum-seekers-at-border-back-into-mexico/70903227007/
