End of Section 42: In War Prevented, People Don’t Die

The countdown to the end of Section 42 on May 11 has already begun, raising concerns in the Democratic Party administration due to an expected increase in the number of migrants who are arriving at the southern border seeking asylum. Meanwhile, the Republican colleague is rubbing his hands at the prospect of the images being politically used to reinforce his claim that the border zone is “chaos” and that the “blame” lies with President Joe Biden and the Democrats.

It is a grotesque panorama dominated by political play rather than attention to a humanitarian issue in which thousands of migrants lose everything by being physically and psychologically stranded in a geographical region so far from their places of origin and to which it would be difficult for them to return of their own free will. The idea in any case is to move forward until the goal is achieved, regardless of the obstacles in the US political arena.

That is, if they were truly concerned about the “crisis” at the border, one would expect the Republicans to legislate to allocate the funds needed to process the thousands of daily asylum applications that are expected now that Section 42 has been repealed given they control majority in the House of Representatives. But this is not the case, because his plan is to use it for political purposes to cause alarm among the population and activate his most recalcitrant base.

It will not be difficult for them, since they have been preparing the ground since the presidency of Donald Trump, who, although he lost the election crushingly, still retains the support of that segment of society that believes in conspiracy theories based on ignorance, racism and xenophobia, which led to tragic acts of violence against minorities.

This is what Republicans have done time and time again over the past decades, whether they are in the majority or in the minority, whether they are in the White House or not, because the solution to the problem is through immigration reform, which eliminates all the unresolved problems in our the immigration system will take away from them the favorite card in the political game: the use of immigrants as scapegoats and immigration as a synonym for lack of control.

This is precisely the essence of the Republican essence, the simulation of which is already undeniable, as well as its intention to nullify the idea of ​​the United States as a nation of immigrants, to turn it into the anachronism that white supremacy with all its manifestations has become. “privilege”.

Because a country as rich and powerful as the United States should be able to process migrant asylum seekers efficiently and in an orderly manner. This is what she lives by, and this is what she has assumed throughout her history.

It is true that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that between 9,000 and 14,000 migrants will arrive at the border daily after Section 42 is repealed. In fact, DHS has requested $3.4 billion in funds from Congress to implement the plan and manage USA. -Border with Mexico after the expiration of Section 42.

The United States has the ability to deal with this moment, and the prospect of thousands of asylum applications being dealt with daily should not be a nightmare. It seems that the fear of perception is greater than reality, given, first of all, that this is still a border: there is always movement, it is alive, the number of detainees grows and decreases and does not depend solely on Name 42.

For this reason, we insist that this country, which has been able to process thousands of refugees from Ukraine, could do the same with those who come from Latin America, making this process a worthy act, and not a media circus that can be staged by Republican extremists. exploit. . This would be a litmus test for both the Biden administration and its opponents, but above all for American society as a whole, which would once again face the dilemma of continuing to defend its values ​​and principles, or throwing its quality overboard. , humanitarian as a hospitable nation.

There must be means to have more agents and judges at ports of entry to process petitions quickly, just as there must be resources to accommodate these petitioners without having to hide under bridges or on the streets of frontier towns. This does not speak well of what is considered the “most powerful nation” in the world.

After all, the end of Section 42 has been expected since it was enacted three years ago, and as they say, in a war prevented, people don’t die.