The White House is responding to a wave of complications and backlash at the US-Mexico border amidst its efforts to prevent the large group of migrants currently in the area from crossing into the United States.
“On Sunday… US agents closed a major border crossing and fired tear gas at migrants attempting to cross into the US from Tijuana, Mexico,” reported National Public Radio (NPR) on the events unfolding.
More recently, The New York Times (NYT) relayed, “A Guatemalan migrant fell and was impaled on metal bars last week after she and her children tried to climb a wall on the United States border with Mexico…”
Images that have been taken of such incidents have not been well-received domestically by either side of politics.
Nancy Rodriguez, a senior at Saint Xavier University (SXU), opined when viewing images of the tear-gassing, “How could you do that to children? How could you do that to a human being and be comfortable with what’s happening to them?”
“We have to put an end to it. We cannot be tear-gassing children who are arriving at our borders seeking asylum, because they are fleeing the murder capitals of the world,” said Democratic Senator Kamal Harris.
Even some Republican congressmen, irrespective of their support for increased border security, have expressed lamentation at the current state of affairs.
“Well, nobody wants to tear-gas children… Listen, we’re a nation of immigrants. My heart goes out to the people that want to improve their lot in life… I’ve heard the stories. It’s horrific what’s happening in Central America,” said Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
Along with the grief and frustration borne from such stories, many have offered thoughts on how best to proceed with the current situation, and how to prevent such a chaotic environment in the future.
“We’ve got to fix our policies that basically limit our ability to control uncontrolled immigration. [The tear-gassing is] hard to watch, but that’s not the root of the problem… Congress hasn’t had the collective will to fix the gaps in our immigration laws,” said Republican Senator John Cornyn.
Senator Cornyn’s fellow Republican colleagues echo similar sentiments, as do some citizens. However, others think they have found a more practical and expedient solution to the disarrayed border conditions.
“I think we need to maintain strong relationships throughout South America to prevent something like this from happening again… As long as people are properly vetted, I believe they should have the opportunity to apply for American citizenship,” said SXU senior John Murawski.
“I just want people to put themselves into [an immigrant’s] shoes and look at the issue from that perspective,” said Rodriguez. Furthermore, she stated that she’d “want a more streamlined process for getting immigrants through the checkpoints and a faster system for obtaining visas.”
Regardless, the President has remained adamant on his hardline stance on border control, stating, “Here’s the bottom line: Nobody’s coming into our country unless they come in legally.”
Joshua Mira
News Editor
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