Texas Border Business
EDINBURG – Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez invited President Joseph R. Biden to come to South Texas “to witness first-hand the challenges being created by current (immigration) policy.”
The invitation was extended in a one-page letter in which Cortez tells the President “immediate and decisive action” is needed to address the current immigrant surge.
Cortez then followed up with a flurry of morning meetings with federal, state and local representatives, and is calling on Congress and the President to move quickly to resolve major immigration policy shortcomings that are now causing significant capacity issues in Hidalgo County.
“There are two factors at play right now,” Cortez said. “One is a flawed immigration policy on top of outdated laws that are provoking a high volume of immigrants to legally seek asylum. Because of that, a local and highly regarded charity is facing capacity issues.”
Congress must move quickly to fix outdated immigration and asylum laws and the President must expedite implementing a system for quickly expelling those migrants who do not qualify for asylum, Cortez said.
In addition, Judge Cortez has asked all cities in Hidalgo County to help the main agency addressing migrant needs: Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, which is in need of additional capacity.
“I empathize with Customs and Border Protection, which is fulfilling its duties under the law, including processing asylum claims,” Cortez said. “But federal facilities are also at capacity and CBP has no choice but to release these migrants who are legally entitled to stay in the United States until their claims are addressed in court.”
Cortez continued: “Congress and the President must act immediately. As long as the high volume of migrants seeking asylum continues, Hidalgo County must contend with administering to growing numbers of migrants with limited space.”
All of this is further complicated with another surge in COVDI-19 cases that are affecting migrants at about the same rate as Hidalgo County residents. But local residents typically have a place to isolate while battling the virus; that is not the case with the migrants.
