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| david swanson/AFP/Getty Images |
Hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over the world are making their way to the Southwest border, with U.S. and Mexican authorities reporting a surge in apprehensions of people from Asia and Africa as human smuggling networks widen their reach across the globe.
Arrests at the Southwest border of migrants from China, India and other distant countries, including Mauritania and Senegal, tripled to 214,000 during the fiscal year that ended in September from 70,000 in the previous fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Fewer than 19,000 migrants from Asia and Africa were apprehended in the fiscal year ended September 2021.
“The increase in migration from Asia and Africa is remarkable,” said Enrique Lucero, head of the migrant support unit of the Tijuana city government, across from San Diego. “These days, we are dealing with 120 nationalities and 60 different languages.”
Travelers say they exchange information and share videos of U.S.-bound routes on Tik Tok and Facebook, while smugglers offer lodging and travel agencies advertise transport services. Most Asian and African migrants make multiple airport stopovers in what are coming to be known as “donkey flights” to reach countries such as Brazil, Ecuador or Nicaragua, which have few or no visa requirements for some nationalities.
Once they set foot in Latin America, they move north in buses or cars and stay at hotels booked by smuggling organizations. Many wear bracelets similar to those of an all-inclusive resort, with inscriptions that identify the organization that coordinated and charged them for the trip, Mexican authorities say.
For the second year in a row, arrests by the Border Patrol at the U.S. Southern border surpassed two million. Most of them, almost nine out of 10 apprehensions, are of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. But the surge in so-called extracontinental migrants poses a challenge for the U.S. because deporting migrants to Africa and Asia is time-consuming, expensive and sometimes not possible.
Mohamed Aweineny, a 30-year-old Mauritanian who made his living as a driver, left Mauritania Sept. 3. He followed a route from West Africa to Turkey, and on to Colombia before flying to Nicaragua.
“I followed the internet to learn how to get to America without a visa,” he said. --->READ MORE HERE
The crowds of migrants pouring across the U.S. southern border include hundreds of thousands of people from as far away as China, India and Africa, recent federal government statistics show.
Arrests of migrants from countries such as Senegal, Mauritania, China and India entering via Mexico tripled to 214,000 during the fiscal year that ended in September, from 70,000 in the prior fiscal year, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.
In fiscal 2021, there were less than 19,000 migrant “encounters” from Asia and Africa, according to CBP statistics.
Overall, in fiscal 2023, CBP counted nearly 2.48 million encounters at the southern border, up 4% from 2.39 million the previous year.
“The increase in migration from Asia and Africa is remarkable,” said Enrique Lucero, head of the migrant support unit of the Tijuana city government, across from San Diego in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “These days, we are dealing with 120 nationalities and 60 different languages.”
It was the second consecutive year “encounters” along the length of the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico topped two million, according to CBP statistics. Most of the migrants continue to be from Latin America and the Caribbean.
The new groups, known as “extracontinentals” are posing a challenge to federal authorities because deporting migrants back to Asian and African countries is time-consuming and expensive, according to the outlet. --->READ MORE HERE
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