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| Photo Credit: Getty/Newsweek. |
The Mayor of Laredo, Texas has warned of severe national consequences as hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants continue to surge through the troubled US-Mexico border.
He noted
that while it’s mainly the communities alongside border that consistently have
to deal with the influx of migrants, its impact will affect Americans across
the country.
"[The
situation] is so complicated that even Congress doesn't want to touch it, but
it's here and border cities have to deal with it," Mayor Pete Saenz told
Newsweek on Monday. "I say border cities initially, but ultimately, it's
going to impact all of us."
"It
impacts every community really, because all of these people are heading north
and be that as it may, it's going to impact your health system, it's going to
impact your public education system," he said.
U.S. Customs
and Border Patrol has apprehended more than 1.5 million in 2022, a figure that
is more than 600,000 when compared to the same timeframe in 2021, Newsweek
cited data from the Department of Homeland Security.
The surge in the number of migrants began shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated over his softened immigration policy.
Saenz is
seeking help from the Biden administration in dealing with the situation.
"I've
been vocal with the Biden administration about providing the necessary
resources that border patrol and other federal agencies need," Saenz said,
according to Newsweek.
More than 50
migrants died after being trapped in a sweltering tractor trailer in June.
"These
migrants came to the Laredo sector and then ended up in San Antonio through the
checkpoint," Saenz said. "That checkpoint—for years, we've been
asking that it be expanded."