The topic of immigration always leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth, especially with the new wave of immigrants coming into the country in high numbers.

The United States is a country founded by immigrants and continues to keep standing because of immigrants. 

However this subject is bittersweet because when I agree on one side I disagree on the same side; a scale that never seems to have a balance. 

Hearing all of Biden’s promises during his campaign in 2020  made me feel hopeful for the millions of immigrants seeking for a life, not a better life, just a life in general. 

Millions of people seeking to migrate to the United States felt 10 times more hopeful than I did when Biden won. 

Former president Donald Trump had a program called “Remain in Mexico”, which forced thousands of people to wait in Mexico as their cases are pending in the immigration court. 

This left roughly 60,000 people waiting in Mexico in 2019 for their asylum in the United States. 

Biden suspended this program, not canceled it, yet there are still thousands of migrants still waiting in Mexico, typically in immigration camps they set out. 

I remember going to immigration centers in Juarez that hold hundreds of awaiting people, each time losing more hope for getting to the United States. 

Comparing former president Donald Trump’s administration to Biden’s administration when it comes to immigration is not really comparing two completely different things. 

If anything it’s just one side not being as straightforwardly brutal, or racist and xenophobic, as the other. 

Are there still immigrants held at implorable detention centers? 

Yes.

They might have slightly improved the conditions of these detention centers, but not enough. 

A video released in late March, revealed about 4,000 migrants crowded in a facility in Donna, Texas. 

In the video the migrants are crammed on the floor of a facility meant for 250 people. 

Yes, Biden has done actually a lot of things in his mere three months as president of the United States, however he made such big promises about changing immigration policies and the system and there hasn’t been much.

The biggest thing that Biden’s administration has done that disappointed me and many other people, was the reopening of the migrant child detention center in Carrizo Springs, Texas that is designed to hold up to 700 teenagers. 

That migrant child detention center now holds way above 700 teenagers.

Members of his own party like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have criticized this action. 

Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay — no matter the administration or party…It’s only two months into this admin and our fraught, unjust immigration system will not transform in that time. That’s why bold reimagination is so important.” 

Now more than ever, immigrants are fleeing their countries because they were already in shambles before Covid-19, but the aftermath of what seems to be a never ending pandemic has left these countries in ruins.

According to Biden administration officials’ analysis, the number of migrant encounters increased 71% since February.

Over 172,000 people tried to enter the US in March, while in February the number was at 100,441.

Another growing number is that of unaccompanied children crossing the border. 

The number doubled from 9,297 unaccompanied minors in February to 18,890 in March. 

This has only increased the protection of the border. 

I see more Border Patrol agents than police cars in El Paso, and in Juarez I see more military troops on the border than police cars in the city.

Two bills have been passed by the U.S. The House of Representatives gives more hope for this situation; the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021.

U.S. Representative, Veronica Escobar, said, “The migrants that are running for their lives, and running from situations that are untenable for them, are not running because it’s an easy journey or because it is their first choice — this is their last choice.

“Until we address those root causes with Central America, Mexico and Canada, until we work together as a hemisphere again, you can expect to see this year in and year out — just as we have for decades.”

Biden has received a lot of hate for the way he has been treating this crisis.

Covid-19 has also left the United States in deep trouble, having unemployment rates skyrocketing. 

As a safety precaution, Title 42 allows Customs and Border Protection to send back undocumented migrants to prevent the spread of COVID in holding facilities. 

About 104,000 people were expelled under Title 42 in March.

This crisis can obviously not be solved in three months, especially with the numbers being at an all time high. 

However I can’t help but recall when President Biden would retaliate against former president Donald Trump’s attacks on the debates by bringing up the detention centers when they are still around. 

Alex Nowrasteh, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, a renowned libertarian think tank, said, “There really are no ways for these people to enter the United States lawfully.

“So the only options they have are to enter illegally and then apply for asylum once they are here.”

What Biden needs to do is to be transparent about the process.