Migrants from India, Brazil and Past Journey to U.S. Border

The spike in Arizona prompted Governor Doug Ducey to declare a state of emergency in several counties last month and deploy the National Guard along the border. Republican lawmakers have sharply criticized the approval of Tens of thousands of young migrantsalong with large numbers of families who would have been turned away under the Trump administration. Even Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, recently criticized President Biden for failing to address “the immediate crisis on the border”.

In a single weekend in early May, agents in the Yuma area intercepted 1,600 migrants.

“So many people around the world have seen their standard of living decline. It’s no surprise that they would take the chance to get to the US if they heard that others have managed to get out of Mexico successfully “said Andrew Selee, president of the impartial institute on migration policy.

“I saw the same dynamic in 2019,” he said. “But it was on a much smaller scale.”

Opportunity and despair

While most migrants do not necessarily understand the intricacies of US border policy, many said in interviews that they accepted a time-limited offer to enter the US. Friends and family who are already in the country, as well as smugglers eager to make money, have assured them that they will not be turned away – and it turns out to be true.

“What we hear at home is that the new president is making entry easier and there is a demand for labor,” said Rodrigo Neto, who came from Brazil, where the pandemic killed his business and overwhelmed him with debt. “I couldn’t miss this opportunity.”

Mr. Neto, 55, closed his electronics store, sold his car, and raised his savings to pay for the trip.

Like many people from Brazil and other countries hit by the pandemic, he was unable to obtain a visa to enter the United States. Instead, he flew from São Paulo to Mexico City and then to Tijuana, where a driver who worked for a smuggling network met his group. They were then taken across the Arizona border to the roadside in Algodones, Mexico, where they were dumped one morning.

From there it only took them 10 minutes to reach 8 County Road, where a border guard was standing near an opening in the wall.