Migrants Report Mass Kidnappings In Mexico After Crossing Border Into US

Facts

• According to a report published in Reuters on Wednesday, nine migrants who crossed the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juárez into El Paso this week claimed that there were multiple kidnappings across several days in Mexico's Durango state. If true, the crimes could comprise one of the biggest recent mass kidnappings in the country.
• The news follows accounts that a mass kidnapping took place on Dec. 3, when men in police uniforms stopped migrants' buses and conducted around a thousand people to a house where they were held against their will for six days. They were later rescued by Mexico's military.
• Durango's Prosecutor's Office confirmed last week's rescues, but said it had not opened an investigation into the alleged kidnappings as it had not received any complaints directly related to the claims.
• On Tuesday, Texas state police began to carry out commercial vehicle inspections of trucks entering the US via the international crossing in El Paso, after pledges made by local Mexican officials to increase enforcement failed to produce much of an effect on illegal migration.
• US Border Patrol Chief for the El Paso Sector, Peter Jaquez, stated on Monday that the area, "experienced a major surge in illegal crossings," over the weekend and reported a 3-day average of more than 2.4K encounters every 24 hours.
• The influx of migrants is expected to rise by 40% in the coming weeks, as the court-ordered expiration date of Title 42 — introduced in March 2020 to expedite the expulsion of asylum seekers during the COVID pandemic — approaches. The increase expected to take place towards the end of December is predicted to be felt strongly at the El Paso crossing.

Sources: Reuters, El Paso Matters, New York Times, CNN, and New York Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. Since the US has dispensed with most COVID protocols, there’s no public health excuse to continue Title 42, which has always been a xenophobic policy disguised as a COVID measure. It’s inhumane to continue to turn away these migrants, many of whom have legitimate asylum claims, under this guise. Lawmakers should work to fix the immigration system, but Title 42 must go.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Fox News. It is clear that a legislative solution is the only way to resolve this problem, but negotiations will take time. As the US is facing an unprecedented migrant crisis at its southern border, even moderate Democrats know that the Biden admin. must extend the pandemic-era Title 42 emergency order to prevent the situation from intensifying and prevent the border from descending into chaos.