This article is part one of a two-part series that discusses immigration trends from past and present. The series focuses on apprehension rates, entry and retention legislation, COVID-19 influences, and Colorado detention centers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded a two-decade surge in migrant apprehension rates at the Southwest border between March and April. Immigration officials and academics indicate such immigration trends are not an anomaly but rather mirror historical patterns based on systemic factors.
The national and local immigration debates reflect complex political factors in addressing the recent apprehension rates, migrant rights and border security. The pandemic has significantly influenced the operations of Colorado detention centers and the local organizations that support detained immigrants.
Immigration from Past to Present
In a press statement released by the Department of Homeland Security in March 2021, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed that these surges reflect historic patterns.
“This [trend] is not new,” said Mayorkas. “We have experienced migration surges before—in 2019, 2014 and before then as well. Since April 2020, the number of encounters at the southwest border has been steadily increasing.”
In data released by CBP, Southwest border apprehensions reached 170,000 individuals in March 2021, with nearly 18,700 of those involving unaccompanied children and teens. This is a four-fold increase since March of 2020. For April 2021, the numbers continued to increase, reaching 178,000 apprehended individuals with fewer unaccompanied children at approximately 17,200.
While historically abnormal, the conditions causing recent migration movements in March and April are not surprising to experts. Jesse Acevedo, a political science assistant professor at the University of Denver who specializes in international migration, said that apprehensions in the spring are typically a reflection of seasonal trends that have occurred since the 1980s.
“The pressures of migration have grown in the last couple years in Central America?—one because of COVID, two because of economic repercussions of COVID and three because two big hurricanes hit Honduras,” said Acevedo. “But other than the hurricanes from last year, these conditions have been prevalent for a long time.”
Given the pandemic lockdown began in mid-spring 2020, many of the apprehensions reflect the lag of immigration plans from the year prior. With this in mind, Acevedo believes the “hype” around this topic boils down to politics on a local, national and international level.
“I have not been convinced this is something brand new or unique,” said Acevedo. “This is almost an evolution of immigration policy since the 1980s. To pin it on Biden somewhat ignores a decades-long trajectory of immigration policy.”
Immigration Policies: A Complex Debate
The current apprehension rates, while abnormal, are caused by historical driving factors. These trends have added fuel to the fire in political immigration debates across the nation and in Colorado.
According to Acevedo, immigration politics can be divided into two debates: entry and integration. Entry debates focus on border apprehensions and security issues whereas integration touches on DACA recipients, undocumented worker rights and asylum processes. While the recent border apprehensions reflect the entry debates, Acevedo would not be surprised if President Joe Biden and Colorado representatives pursue integration measures to support already-present migrants.
“I can imagine him introducing another policy proposal to help those with DACA and TPS who are already here,” said Acevedo. “Americans cannot seem to differentiate between undocumented immigrants and refugees, but with DACA and TPS […], Americans seem very open to a pathway towards a green card.”
Colorado Democrats in the state legislature have already pursued such integration measures to better support undocumented individuals. This year, the state legislature has introduced 11 immigration-related bills with four of these being already signed into law. The most recent bill was announced on May 14 and would grant nearly 200,000 undocumented Coloradoans full access to state-funded resources including welfare, housing assistance and free birth control.
On a federal level, Acevedo believes Republicans have a more cohesive immigration stance relative to the Democratic party. The recent apprehension rates, according to Acevedo, could be a crucial point for Republicans in upcoming elections across Colorado and the U.S.
“I think something to keep in mind is that the Senate is 50/50,” said Acevedo. “We have midterm elections in a couple of years. For the House races, some of them are really competitive. Republicans have developed a very coherent message on immigration whereas the Democrats are not as cohesive, and that is a factor that needs to be addressed.”
Current House of Representatives members from Colorado serve until January 2023. The next Senate race is on November 8, 2022. The seat is currently held by Democrat Michael Bennet. Bennet believes in bipartisan approaches to immigration, specifically focusing on increasing DACA pathways to citizenship while concurrently pressing for more border security.
Bennet was a part of the “gang of eight”—a group of four Democrats and four Republicans—who proposed a bill in 2013 to ensure citizen pathways for undocumented immigrants. This bill also provided funding for a 700-mile border fence equipped with new monitoring technology and greater border patrol capacities. It passed the Senate but died in the House.
Part two of this series will discuss how these policies and events have affected Colorado. It details how the pandemic has impacted the Aurora-GEO detention center and what organizations in the area do to support migrants.
