President Donald Trump has made a very bold move. In an attempt to stop the caravan of migrants headed to the U.S.-Mexico border, the president has extended the national border emergency until February of 2022.
Trump said in an announcement on Jan. 16, “The ongoing border security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border of the United States continues to threaten our national security, including by exacerbating the effect of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 … but further action is needed to address the humanitarian crisis and to control unlawful migration and the flow of narcotics and criminals across the southern border of the United States.”
The president declared the national border emergency in February 2019, and this extension will continue it.
Noting his original declaration, President Trump said that the emergency “must continue in effect beyond February 15, 2021,” adding, “I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9844 concerning the southern border of the United States.”
Trump campaigned and won in 2016 on the promise of controlling illegal immigration through building a border wall. So far, his administration has succeeded in constructing over 450 miles of that wall.
On January 18, the approximately 9,000 Honduran migrants in the caravan headed to the border called out Joe Biden, asking that he honor his “commitments” to migrants and asylum-seekers.
Biden has already stated that he would “eliminate President Trump’s decision to limit asylum and end the” program which requires that asylum-seekers remain in Mexico while waiting for their claims to be adjudicated.
Videos of the caravan’s march have been shared to social media. Investigative reporter Drew Hernandez shared a clip, with the caption: “Caravan from Honduras busting through Guatemala Border in route to the USA.”
Caravan from Honduras busting through Guatemala Border in route to the USApic.twitter.com/ZSdFqGLzxb
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) January 16, 2021
“Joe Biden promised amnesty throughout his campaign. A surge of migrants headed to our border is entirely predictable, and it’s a public health catastrophe,” tweeted Republican Senator Tom Cotton, making note of coronavirus concerns.
Joe Biden promised amnesty throughout his campaign.
A surge of migrants headed to our border is entirely predictable, and it's a public health catastrophe. pic.twitter.com/EPIFlTTpvQ
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 17, 2021
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Mark Morgan shares similar concerns, writing on Twitter: “While a migrant caravan attempts to reach Mexico & the US led by irresponsible coordinators, our countries have had a combined 25 million COVID-19 cases & 500,000 deaths—and infections are surging! COVID is a silent killer & the number of migrants falling ill will only increase.”
While a migrant caravan attempts to reach Mexico & the US led by irresponsible coordinators, our countries have had a combined 25 million COVID-19 cases & 500,000 deaths—and infections are surging! COVID is a silent killer & the number of migrants falling ill will only increase. pic.twitter.com/PN87wUr69z
— CBP Mark Morgan (@CBPMarkMorgan) January 17, 2021
Surprisingly, an anonymous official within the Biden transition team told news outlets on January 18 that the migrants should stop their journey. The anonymous source stated that the migrants “need to understand they’re not going to be able to come into the United States immediately” and added that now “is not the time to make the journey.”
