User:Deisenbe/sandbox/DelRio

There had actually been a drop in illegal migrant activity at Del Rio in August, although the numbers were still near a 20-year high.

The Haitian migrant crisis of 2021

Self-exile of Haitians after 2010 earthquake
Chile, Brazil

The trip since 2010 is easier than before
One reason that the migrant crisis has come up mostly since 2010 is that the trip, hard and dangerous as it is, is easier (though not safer) than it used to be. Air fares have dropped. Highways and bus services in South America, Central America, and Mexico have improved. The construction and paving of the 00 k. Chepo–Yaviza highway in Panama about 2008 shrank the biggest obstacle, the Darién Gap, considerably. Before  A small army of hustlers and "protectors" is eager, for a fee, to assist them in reaching the border of Panama from Capurganá. Sometimes relatives already in the United States can help with costs.

The smuggling industry
As undocumemted entry to the United States has been made more difficult since the Clinton administration, an army of people smugglers has spontaneously arisen. In order to sell their services, which barkeers in Central America sell on street corners, the difficulty of the trip is minimi3$ and the chances of success are exagerrated.

Necoclí, Colombia
There is no road between Panama and Colombia. The closest one can get to Panama by road from South America is the small Columbian city of Necoclí, on the eastern shore of what used to be called the Gulf of Darién, but since it is entirely in Colombia and the country sees Darién as Panamanian, it has been renamed the Golfo de Aqaba. From there, ferries take migrants to the small resort city of Capurganá, on the west of the Gulf, or to nearby Acandí, both of which can only be reached by water. From there, the hike through the Darién jungle begins.

The population of Necoclí is about 20,000, primarily Black descendents of former slaves. About 25,000 migrants, 75% of which are Haitian, passed through Necoclí between January and August, 2021. The number of migrants arriving sometimes exceeds the capacity of the ferries, leaving Necoclí in August 2021 with 10,000 migrants sleeping in hostels, churches, or on the beach. The town's water system collapsed, unable to handle the increased load. The mayor proclaimed a state of emergency ("calamidad pública").

The Darién Gap
The Darién Gap is a border region between Panama, in which Darién is a province and a national park, and Colombia. There are no roads through it, only trails. The Pan-American Highway ends at Yaviza in Panama, and begins again at Turbo, Colombia. The approximately 60 miles (100 km.) separating them goes through jungle, swamp, and mountains. To make the trip was a rather dangerous and expensive adventure.

According to the Panamanian government, in 2018 there were 420 Haitians who crossed the Darién Gap; in 2021 there were through August 42,300.

Title 42
Denial of applications for asylum. Most applications are unsuccessful.

Biden's relaxation exploited by street sales in Ho duras.

The September 2021 Del Rio crisis
On September 15, 2021, the migrants waiting under the Del Rio–Ciudad Acuña International Bridge were reported to be "hundreds". Migrants turned themselves in to Border Patrol officers, believing that they would be welcomed.

The caravan reached Del Rio, Texas, on Thursday, September 16, 2021. 2,000 entered in the morning; by the afternoon the number reached 8,200, and by Friday 10,500, according to the mayor, Bruno Lozano. On September 16, 2021, The New York Times and the Washington Post both reported from Del Rio, Texas, that a "massive surge in migration across the Rio Grande this week...has overwhelmed the authorities and caused significant delays in processing the arrivals." According to the Border Patrol, this was an unprecedented logistical challenge; the Washington Post described it as a humanitarian emergency. Mayor Lozano, described the situation as a "worse [sic] case of worst-case scenarios."

At time the Border Patrol estimated the number as 9,000. For protection from the sun the Border Patrol held them under the Del Rio International Bridge joining the city with Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, as it had done previously under the Anzaldúa International Bridge in Granjeno, Texas, and under the Paso del Norte International Bridge in El Paso, Texas. The mayor of Del Rio, Bruno Lozano, described the conditions as "squalid". Little clean water and food were supplied, and there were 20 portable toilets for the 9,000 people. Migrants reentered Mexico to purchase food and other supplies in Ciudad Acuña, and then re-crossed the river to the Del Rio encampment. Some enterprising Mexicans waded across the river with what stock they could carry, and sold it there.

The Border Patrol denied access to American news media.

This quantity of migrants far exceeded the processing capacity of the Del Rio Border Patrol station, which typically dealt with 300 migrants per day. Additional agents were sent in from other Border Patrol offices in other Texas cities, and announced plans to move migrants to other Border Patrol offices, and to begin "return flights to Haiti".

The border crossing at Del Rio was closed on Friday, September 17, with traffic diverted to the Eagle Pass Port of Entry, 57 mi to the southeast. The nearby Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing was also closed. The Del Rio crossing partially reopened on Saturday September 26; accoreing to Customs and Border Protection all migrants under the bridge had been removed as of September 25.

Title 42 and charter flights to Haiti
Most of the Haitian migrants came via Brazil and Chile, where they had been living and working before finding conditions so bad that they set out by land for the United States. There were children of Haitians born in these countries. Some spoke Spanish much better than Haitian Creole.

These migrants said they intended to apply for asylum, but many of them were not even ableto apply (which would have given then an appointment montgs in the future, during which time they were supposed to remain in Mexico. Arrived shackled.

Title 42 had been used in May of 2020; at that time single Mexicans, rather than Central Americans, were the largest nationality. Some viewed the Title 42 expulsions as a blessing in disguise since, in contrast woth a previous "xero tolerance" policy, they were expelled without penalty, free to try again the next day.