• • March 24, 2023
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• • March 24, 2023

The humanitarian situation at the U.S. border with Mexico has been extremely tense for months. Estimates put the number of illegal border crossings by people from Central and South America at around 200,000 per month. U.S. Republicans accuse President Biden’s administration of serious failures in asylum and migration policy. The opposition wants Biden’s policies in this field to be investigated by a congressional investigative committee as well. The administration is attempting to address the crisis at the southern border through a variety of means and legislative initiatives. Among the most controversial methods are plans by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to require that asylum applications can generally only be made on the Mexican side of the border, from outside the United States. Violations of this would allow asylum seekers to be immediately deported back to their home countries without a trial. Aid organizations sharply criticized the plan. What is the situation like on both the Mexican and U.S. sides of the border? What are the biggest hurdles in dealing with the high volume of migration, and is easing the situation even within reach? What has U.S. President Biden accomplished on migration policy so far in his term? What legislative initiatives in Congress currently have a chance of success? Podcast hosts Julia Friedlander, Atlantik-Brücke, and Stormy-Annika Mildner, Aspen Institute Germany, discuss these questions with Bastian Brauns, U.S. correspondent for t-online in Washington, D.C., and Johanna Roth, U.S. correspondent for ZEIT Online in Washington, D.C.