Border Crisis: Humanity and Security - a podcast by Justin Ahn

In March, over 172,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended by Customs and Border Protection. The surge is stretching American border capacities, from patrolling to detainment to asylum hearings and deportations, very thin.

The surge of illegal immigration on the southern border has been highly politicized, particularly by the conservative media and Republican congressmen as a way of attacking Biden and exploiting identity politics/demographic fears. Meanwhile, the Biden White House tries to keep the issue quiet. Of course, it's not a direct result of government policy, as the main push factors are violence, economic desperation, and climate crises. However, it does force the Biden administration to make tough choices between humanity and security. The current situation dissatisfies almost everyone, as children are in prison-like, overcrowded tents that serve as hostile indefinite residences; also, with the end of the Remain in Mexico program, many illegal immigrants are held in American border towns as existing facilities overflow. The true conundrum is for unaccompanied (and accompanied) minors, whom the government has to take responsibility for, as deportation is not an option, leading to the current situation where tens of thousands are under US custody.

So, what do we do — and where do the migrants go — next? The answer comes down to Biden's favorite word: infrastructure, on the southern border. In the short term, emergency legislative and executive assistance; in the long term, build up of personnel and technology; and international relations, working with neighbors in Mexico and Central America. The immigration issue, especially given the border crisis, is a test of how the Biden government treats human lives and fates, and a test of the security policy to come.

Further episodes of Between the Headlines

Further podcasts by Justin Ahn

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