Jacobs distorts causes of crisis at southern US border

Editor:

Congressman Chris Jacobs staged a phony phone town hall on April 21st to discuss actions at the Southern Border. Mr. Jacobs stated that the Biden administration was allowing the cartels prey on migrants before they enter the U.S.

To be clear U.S. law stops at the border. Forcing migrants and asylum seekers to stay in Mexico, which is what the previous administration did, is what allowed the cartels to prey upon the migrants.

Human Right Watch reported: (Washington, DC, March 5, 2021) – “Asylum seekers sent to Mexico by the administration of former US president Donald Trump have suffered violence and extortion by Mexican police, immigration agents, and criminal groups.” Human Rights First wrote: “As of February 19, 2021, there are at least 1,544 publicly reported cases of murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, and other violent assaults against asylum seekers and migrants forced to return to Mexico by the Trump Administration.”

Another false (lying) claim of Mr. Jacobs is that migrants failed to show up at court after being given an appearance ticket. Vox reported: “About 99 percent of asylum seekers who were not detained or who were previously released from immigration custody showed up for their hearings over the last year, according to new data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, a think tank that tracks data in the immigration courts.”

Mr. Jacobs’s lying may make good sound bits, but it makes bad corrupt policies exacerbating the immigration problems. To stem the flow of migrants we need to address the root causes which include poverty, violence and climate changes. These are all addressed in President Biden’s immigration bill he sent to Congress after being sworn in as President on Jan. 20, 2021.

William Fine

Brockport