In El Paso, Texas, a troubling situation unfolds as hundreds of migrant families are forced to endure life beneath a bridge while awaiting processing. This encampment has emerged amid a growing humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported that many migrants are currently being held behind a chain-link fence and razor wire, exposed to the elements for extended periods.
Every day, thousands make their way across the Paso del Norte bridge connecting El Paso to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. However, CBP is struggling to process the influx of migrants efficiently. In the interim, families are receiving basic necessities such as food, water, and medical assessments in a tent set up under the bridge, which is intended as a temporary holding area rather than a permanent shelter.
“Given the overwhelming number of apprehensions in the El Paso sector, we have implemented additional measures to facilitate processing,” CBP explained in a recent statement. “As migrants arrive at the processing facility, they are temporarily housed in a tent until their turn for processing.”
On Monday and Tuesday, CBP reported having over 12,000 individuals in custody, with the number climbing to 13,400 by Wednesday. For context, the agency typically considers 4,000 to be a high number and 6,000 as crisis levels. “Thirteen thousand is unprecedented,” the statement noted. To address this surge, 750 officers are being reassigned to the southern border.
While awaiting processing, these families face uncomfortable and unsafe conditions as they remain in the tent under the bridge. Although CBP insists that this tent serves as a transitional shelter, many families have been forced to endure the outdoors for multiple days, which raises serious concerns, particularly for vulnerable individuals such as children and the elderly.
A CBP spokesperson, Marco Rivera, mentioned to The Guardian that the agency is improving its processing capabilities, but admits, “The numbers keep increasing, and we have no other facilities available.”
Critics, including Rep. Sarah Johnson, a Democrat from California and chair of the House Committee on Border Security, have attributed the dire conditions to CBP’s management. “The ongoing situation at the southern border highlights the failures of the current administration’s immigration policies, which have exacerbated this humanitarian crisis,” she stated to BuzzFeed News. “There is no valid reason for migrants to be living under a bridge in such appalling conditions.”
Despite the alarming figures and deplorable conditions, some argue that the current situation is not entirely unprecedented. According to analysis from various sources, the numbers of border crossings today are still significantly lower than those recorded during peak years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when arrests reached 1.6 million in 2000 alone. CBP anticipates detaining approximately 95,000 individuals in March, a rise from 76,000 in February.
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In summary, the situation for migrant families under the bridge in El Paso is dire, with many living in unacceptable conditions as they await processing. The ongoing border crisis highlights significant challenges within the immigration system and raises questions about the adequacy of current policies.