Thread by @ReichlinMelnick

To break down the tangled mess of truth, omissions, and propaganda in this video and tweet, here's a thread on what's been going on in Yuma—why thousands of migrants are peacefully and politely lining themselves up to ask for asylum there.

I promise you'll learn something!

https://twitter.com/RepAndyBiggsAZ/status/1543589326478606338

First, geography: Yuma (pop. 97,428) is located in the southwest corner of Arizona, bordering California. It's about a 2.5-3 hour drive to Phoenix.

Across the border in Mexico is Los Algodones (pop. 5,475), mostly known for its many dentists catering to American tourists.

It's not just international and state borders that are relevant here. The entire US is divided into various different "Border Patrol Sectors," each governed by a "Chief Patrol Agent."

East/Central Arizona is Tucson Sector (3,600 agents). West Arizona is Yuma Sector (800 agents).

For decades, Yuma Sector was sleepy. Even 20 years ago when the neighboring Tucson Sector routinely hit 60-70,000 apprehensions, Yuma was relatively quiet.

In 2006, the Bush admin walled off the easy crossing points in Yuma and apprehensions plummeted.

Then came 2019. And 2021.

When Trump took office, Yuma Sector was already mostly walled off—except for a 10-12 mile section running along the Colorado River outside Yuma/Los Algodones with only "vehicle barriers."

Here's @USATODAY's 2017 map. Note a very key fact—the barrier isn't on the exact border!

"Vehicle barriers" are 3-4 foot-high steel fences designed to stop vehicles, not people. Anyone can step over them.

Here's a picture of migrants walking along the US side of the barriers outside Yuma in 2017.

But here's the thing: both sides of the fence are actually US soil.

Why is the wall outside Yuma set back from the border? Because the border line is a mess. It originally followed the middle of the Colorado River, but the river shifted course during floods.

Today, the border crosses the river several times—and you can't build a wall in a river.

In 2019, asylum seekers began coming to Yuma in large numbers. Since the ports of entry were "metering" asylum seekers, most stepped over the barriers instead. Thousands were released.

In response, the Trump admin stole $1.3 billion from DOD for a wall. kold.com/2019/10/03/bor…

On January 5, 2021, CBP declared it had erected "the last panel of the more than 107-mile wall that spans Yuma Sector’s area of operation."

Except that wasn't true. There were still "remedial security measures" to be installed in the wall—like gates.

That means there were gaps.

On January 21, 2021, President Biden took office and ordered an immediate halt to wall construction.

That left at least 4 gaps in the wall near Yuma, like this one near the Morelos Dam, where CBP was going to install a gate.

But again, don't forget, both sides are on US soil!

That brings us to 2021. When Biden took office, the most important border policy in effect was Title 42, a public health authority invoked by the CDC to allow border officials to turn away migrants without any rights.

But Title 42 itself has lots of gaps. americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide…

Before a person can be expelled from US soil under Title 42, there has to be another country that is willing to accept them.

When Title 42 began, Mexico agreed to take individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras—and nobody else.

americanimmigrationcouncil.org/rising-border-…

People who can't be expelled under Title 42 to Mexico likely can't be expelled at all. DHS just doesn't have the logistical/diplomatic ability to carry out mass deportation flights.

Those NOT expelled are processed under normal immigration law—including a chance to seek asylum.

Migrants coming to Yuma in 2021/2022 are nearly all from countries OTHER than Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras—primarily Western Hemisphere nations like Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, or Colombia.

That means they're largely immune from Title 42 and by law may seek asylum.

As a result, for migrants from countries other than Mexico and the Northern Triangle, Yuma is an attractive place to seek asylum.

The cartels have less of a presence, Mexican enforcement is limited due to Los Algodones' small size, and the physical crossing is safe and easy.

From a migrants' perspective Yuma is notable mostly because of how orderly it is. Most people walk across the Morelos Dam or cross the Colorado, walk to a gap, then turn themselves in to Border Patrol.

Here are some Cuban families last December calmly waiting to be processed.

However, from the Border Patrol's perspective, Yuma is a terrible place for people to seek asylum. Since it was sleepy for so long, the physical infrastructure is quite limited.

The single Border Patrol station in Yuma was overwhelmed in both 2019 & 2021. washingtonexaminer.com/policy/leaked-…

With the Border Patrol lacking space to hold migrants for long periods of times and few nearby ICE detention centers, DHS has no choice but to release the majority of asylum-seeking migrants coming through Yuma with a notice to appear in court—and most do. americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/measu…

The City of Yuma also lacks some of the resources that other cities along the border have tapped to respond to rising numbers of asylum seekers (like a large migrant shelter), leading to issues with street releases in 2019 under Trump and 2021 under Biden.
azcentral.com/story/news/pol…

People released to seek asylum reside here legally during that process. And despite some local friction, many Yuma residents have responded with support for migrants.

Some volunteers even go down to the gap every day to share food, water, and welcome.

borderreport.com/hot-topics/tit…

After requests from local officials, the Biden administration said in December that it would make an exception to its pledge not to build new wall and would close the Yuma wall gaps.

But government operates slowly. 6 months later the gaps are still there. kyma.com/news/top-stori…

Here's the key thing: building the missing gates will not stop people from coming. That's because both sides of the wall are on US soil!

Once the gates are built, what is shown here in El Paso will happen in Yuma—people cross the border, go up to the gate, and must be let in.

So here's the truth in Rep. Biggs' tweet: there is a gap, thousands of migrants are coming through it, and most (but not all) will indeed be released.

But here's what he left out: these people can't be expelled, seeking asylum is legal, and closing the gaps won't change a thing!

There's also propaganda in the tweet. People lining up calmly and orderly at the border to go through a legal process to seek asylum are not "illegal aliens," they're asylum seekers.

Also, despite the "around the world" claim, the vast majority are from the Western Hemisphere.

And that's what's going on in Yuma! I'll conclude this thread with a piece I wrote last week after the San Antonio tragedy.

Biggs and others want us to crack down, to get rid of asylum, and worse. But that will just lead to more deaths. We can do better.
expressnews.com/opinion/commen…

Here's a brief addendum. @FOX9AdamKlepp has a great video showing exactly why closing the gaps won't make a difference.

This was taken from about 15 miles south of the current Yuma gaps, in another spot where both sides of the wall is built onto US soil.

https://twitter.com/FOX9AdamKlepp/status/1544758097268207616

You can actually see the exact spot where that video was taken on Google Maps. As you can see, migrants can simply walk onto US soil from Mexico without any difficulty whatsoever (through the dry Colorado riverbed), then cross the canal and wait outside the gate to be let in.