How Migrants Are Being ‘Expelled’ from the U.S. Border

How Are Migrants Being Treated at the Border?

Read the summary, watch the video and answer the discussion questions. For a transcript of the video, click here. 

The Biden administration has been struggling to deal with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The current influx is straining resources and sowing confusion for migrants on both sides of the border. Migrants arriving at the border are being expelled due to COVID restrictions, which is a less formal process than being deported.

• Shelters for migrants on the Mexico side of the border are crowded beyond capacity, and the U.S. government is flying some migrants to other cities on the border to expel them there, where there is more room at shelters.
• Few adults are permitted to cross the border, due to both immigration and COVID restrictions. The government estimates that about between 18,600 and 22,000 children could cross the border in April and upwards of 21,800 to 25,000 could cross in May, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• A surge of unaccompanied minors from Central American countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras began around 2014. In that year alone, federal authorities apprehended over 66,000 children.

Discussion Questions: Migrants at the U.S. Border

1. Who is interviewed in this piece and what is her background?
2. What happens to families trying to cross into the United States from Mexico without legal status?
3. Where and When did the current surge of unaccompanied minors trying to enter the U.S. begin?
4. Why are migrants seeking to enter the United States?
5. How is the Biden administration planning to address the current influx of migrants?

Focus Questions: Migrant Safety and Health

1. Who do you think should take responsibility for the safety of migrants waiting on the U.S. border, and how?
2. What do you think will happen when the current public health order keeping migrants out of the U.S. is lifted?

Media Literacy: Who is interviewed in this piece? Why do you think a national news program would interview a local journalist to understand current events?

Additional Resources

• Why might a young person leave their home to travel to the U.S. alone? You can read one account here, adapted in the New York Times from the book Solito, Solita, made up of accounts of children crossing alone into the United States.

Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Extra.