Caravan’s Coming: Biden Invited Them
Here are four words I never thought I’d say: Thank goodness for Mexico.
According to NPR, Mexican security forces are the only thing standing between a caravan of about 9,000 Hondurans and the American border.
Mexico has beefed up security on its own southern border with Guatemala in anticipation of the caravan. Mexico also sent six buses south to help transport Hondurans back to their home country. The Mexican Secretary for Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling on Honduran officials to do more to stop the "irregular flow" of citizens through the region.
Why are they coming now? Because President-Elect Joe Biden invited them with his merry talk of making citizens out of people in the country illegally. Oh, and his promise to suspend all deportations for his first 100 days in office.
And what is it with Biden and the magic of 100 days? You know, 100 million inoculations in 100 days, masks for 100 days, no deportations for 100 days.
It’s all so sciency!
On the other hand, Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which kept most illegal immigrants on the Mexican side of the border where thousands wait in camps for asylum hearings, is not nearly as appealing. Might as well stay in Honduras.
Yet thousands of people aiming to invade the country during a pandemic is causing even the Bring-Em-All-In Biden brigade to gulp.
On Sunday, an unnamed Biden transition official said the migrants hoping to claim asylum in the U.S. during the first few weeks of the administration "need to understand they’re not going to be able to come into the U.S. immediately," NBC News reported.
The Biden transition official told NBC News that while "there’s help on the way," now "is not the time to make the journey…”
"We have to provide a message that help and hope is on the way, but coming right now does not make sense for their own safety…while we put into place processes that they may be able to access in the future," the official said.
Good Lord. In other words, there will be a time to make that journey, to cut in line ahead of all of the other patient people in the world who have filled out the proper paperwork and are waiting to be allowed to immigrate legally.
The Hill interviewed one member of the caravan who explained why he was marching to America.
When asked what he wanted for "his people," the migrant said it was "to get to the U.S. because they’re having a new president.”
"He’s gonna help all of us," the migrant said of President-elect Joe Biden. "He’s giving us 100 days to get to the U.S." to get legal status and "get a better life for our kids and family.”
Biden’s got a problem. Unless Mexico bails him out.
