THE WASHINGTON POST: The Biden administration wants to use the Federal Emergency Management Agency in South Texas to help cope with the growing number of migrant adults and children crossing from Mexico, according to two people familiar with the proposal.
Department of Homeland Security officials sent a request to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) this week and are awaiting the state’s consent to proceed with FEMA assistance, the costs of which would be covered by the federal government, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the proposal. Abbott’s office would not say Thursday afternoon what it plans to do.
The FEMA plan is an indication the Biden administration views the influx as a significant emergency. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Monday the situation did not amount to a crisis but rather a “stressful challenge” that he blamed on Trump administration policies aimed at deterring migrants and asylum seekers that had undercut U.S. capacity.
FEMA support in Texas would be primarily aimed at testing and potentially quarantining family groups and adults before their release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The number of apprehensions made along the Mexico border has pushed even higher over the past week, with agents taking more than 4,000 people into custody every day — a level of enforcement activity that nears the 2019 crisis.
Editor’s Note: Click here to read the full story by reporter Nick Miroff in The Washington Post.
Editor’s Note: The main image accompanying the above news clip shows migrants Monica Melare Hernandez, second from left to right, and Tiburcio Calderon, third sitting down, in the waiting area of the bus station in Brownsville. (Photo: Antonio Vindell/RGG)
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