Flashback: PBS Says Migrants Are Being Released Into Towns That ‘Often Lack the Means to Cope’ in 2021

During a segment aired on the June 4, 2021 edition of “PBS NewsHour,” host Judy Woodruff and Special Correspondent Dan Lieberman discussed the “growing trend” of U.S. Border Patrol releasing migrants into rural areas that didn’t have the resources to deal with the migrants, a phenomenon that Woodruff blamed on the “surge in crossings” at the southern border that had occurred in the months prior.

Woodruff stated, “A surge in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months has led U.S. border agents to drop some migrants off at sites in rural American towns to begin their wait for court hearings. As Special Correspondent Dan Lieberman reports, these towns often lack the means to cope with the influx, even though aid groups have stepped in to help.”

In the report, Lieberman discussed the Arizona-California Humanitarian Coalition, “a group that was created to respond to a growing trend, Border Patrol releasing migrants in small towns that lack the resources to respond.”

Lieberman also reported that some residents on the border were “frustrated by the releases,” which they viewed as emblematic of the problems with the immigration system and worried about the impact on resources.

(h/t Leon Wolf)

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