MATAMOROS, Mexico (Michigan News Source) – Title 42, a Trump-era policy designed to turn away migrants at the U.S./Mexico border because of COVID-19 public health restrictions, will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.
That means the tens of thousands of people trying to come into the U.S. illegally will no longer be turned away when the policy expires.
It would be reasonable to think that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants flooding the country would warrant a similar caravan of media to meet them there and cover the event. However, only reporter Todd Bensman appears to be covering this story with his boots on the ground.
Part 2: all day, sure, but all night too from Matamoros to Brownsville. It may never have stopped. I had to go to sleep at some point…crowds still out there pic.twitter.com/vCV1KJIWL9
— Todd Bensman (@BensmanTodd) May 10, 2023
Bensman has been at the Matamoros, Mexico-Brownsville, Texas border since Monday. He spoke on The Steve Gruber Show on Wednesday morning and described what he’s been seeing.
“There is a migrant camp here that is probably around 10,000 strong,” Bensman told Gruber. “It’s at least a mile-and-a-half long along the Rio Grande. People are arriving constantly into the city by bus from other parts of Mexico.”
Bensman stressed that migrants are coming to the border because they’ve heard the Biden administration will let them into the U.S.
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“[Yesterday I saw them] crossing in huge numbers – just powering over the Rio Grande and up the bank right through the razor wire,” Bensman said. “Eventually they tore [the razor wire] out.”
Despite the Biden administrations claims that the border is secure, Bensman said that is a lie.
“There was no law enforcement over there whatsoever,” he said. “No badges and nobody to stop them.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been named the “border czar,” has not made an appearance at the border since 2021.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it is ready to accommodate those who show up at the border. However, Bensman said the so-called “Safe Street Release” program is a misnomer.
“What that means is ‘We are at capacity and we have no where to put anybody so we’re just going to let them wander around,'” Bensman said, referring to the Biden policy.
Michigan is likely to see the impact of the border crisis as Bethany Christian Services and Catholic Charities offer resettlement services to illegal immigrants. In addition, the city of East Lansing declared itself a “Sanctuary City” in January. That means law enforcement will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
On Monday, East Lansing’s Human Rights Commission recommended the city offer government-issued IDs for illegal immigrants, the homeless, and veterans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been shipping illegal immigrants to other sanctuary cities around the country.
The most asked question when it comes to the insurgency of migrants is, “Why?” No one in an official position has answered this question, but Bensman offered his theory.
“These nongovernment organizations (migrant advocacy groups) are earning federal contracts to help them move people into country.” Bensman speculated. “It’s all about the money.”
