Southern Border Reset

Eakinomics: Southern Border Reset I suspect that many have tired of the endless waves of bad news from the southern border of the United States. In such circumstances, it often makes sense to step away from the day-to-day and look at the big picture. Enter Isabella Hindley and her recent work “Rethinking Southwest Border Solutions.” Hindley makes three basic points. First, there really is a problem. This is not partisan hype. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported more than 250,000 migrant encounters in December 2022 – a monthly record high and levels not seen since early 2000. A migrant encounter results in either apprehension or immediate expulsion, so 202,000 apprehensions meant that 80 percent of all migrants were taken into temporary custody in the United States. The result is that CBP detention facilities are operating beyond capacity and staffing is insufficient to process the migrants. Finally, the character of the migrants is changing away from single adults seeking work toward families and unaccompanied minors. The enforcement regime no longer fits the problem. Second, the current approach is a mix of emergency authorities (“Title 42”) and pure deterrence that is unlikely to result in a long-term decrease in migration levels. “Title 42 is a COVID-era policy, started under the Trump Administration, that permits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director to suspend entry into the United States in the interest of protecting public health. The policy was originally set to terminate in May 2022 as the pandemic subsided, but after a string of lawsuits, appeals, and court orders, it has been extended to May 11, 2023, with its expiration corresponding with the end of the pandemic public health emergency. Until then, CBP will continue to expel migrants at the border without opportunity to seek asylum under the authority of Title 42.” Title 42 has perversely increased repeat border crossings, as individuals who are expelled can turn right around and try to enter again within hours. In January, the Biden Administration announced a new border plan, but it was largely an expansion of the Title 42 approach paired with agreements for Mexico to accept more expelled migrants and the United States to undertake rulemaking to limit applications for asylum. There is little in this plan that offers much hope of durable success. Hindley’s final point is that a permanent strategy should include elements that expand legal employment pathways for migrants; involve international cooperation among United States, Mexico, and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador; and improve border infrastructure. At a time when job openings vastly outstrip unemployed workers, it makes sense for employers and migrants alike to expand the current limits on legal, temporary visas. This can reduce the incentives for illegal border crossing. Engaging with the Northern Triangle countries can help to reduce the conditions that prompt northward migration. This was part of the original Biden vision for immigration but seems to have been lost in the political back-and-forth on the border. Finally, improving the staffing, detention centers, and housing at the border would cost less than $400 million. In the sea of federal spending, this is the moral equivalent of change in the congressional couch. (Of note, the other cheap immigration policy is simply clearing out the enormous visa backlogs. See Gordon Gray’s piece.) The chaos at the southern border is a national failure. A new strategy is needed to fix the problem.