Dexter Filkins on the Dilemma at the Border
b'Dexter Filkins has reported on conflict situations around the world, and recently spent months reporting on the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. In a recent piece, Filkins tries to untangle how conditions around the globe, an abrupt change in executive direction from Trump to Biden, and an antiquated immigration system have created a chaotic situation. \\u201cIt\\u2019s difficult to appreciate the scale and the magnitude of what\\u2019s happening there unless you see it,\\u201d Filkins tells David Remnick. Last year, during a surge at the border, local jurisdictions struggled to provide humanitarian support for thousands of migrants, leading Democratic politicians to openly criticize the Administration. While hardliners dream of a wall across the two-thousand-mile border, \\u201cthey can\\u2019t build a border wall in the middle of a river,\\u201d Filkins notes. \\u201cSo if you can get across the river, and you can get your foot on American soil, that\\u2019s all you need to do.\\u201d Migrants surrendering to Border Patrol and requesting asylum then enter a yearslong limbo as their claims work through an overburdened system. The last major overhaul of the immigration system took place in 1986, Filkins explains, and with Republicans and Democrats perpetually at loggerheads, there is no will to fix a system that both sides acknowledge as broken.'