Judy: Just days before
Christmas, the future of the
United States pandemic era
immigration policy known as
title 42 remains uncertain.
That is after the supreme court
put a hold on its expiration
date this week.
Jeff Bennett reports this means
that thousands of migrants along
the southern border are caught
in limbo and in the cold.
Jeff: Along the u.s.-mexico
border, dreams for a new life in
America, suddenly delayed.
Thousands of migrants hoping to
find asylum in the U.S., told to
wait.
>> [Speaking Spanish]
We are waiting.
Half an hour later, they say
something else.
We don't know anything.
>> [Speaking Spanish]
It is like having your dreams
shattered.
We come here with a goal, to
help our families.
It felt like I have run out of
Paulson -- possibilities.
Jeff: Migrants trying to cross
faced National Guard soldiers
setting up barbed wire to create
a barrier.
At night, they let small fires
to keep warm as temperatures
dropped.
Migrants anticipated the
expiration of title 42 after a
federal judge called it
unlawful.
The trump administration rule
allowed officials to quickly
turn migrants back to Mexico or
their home countries, but on
Monday, the supreme court
granted a request by Republican
attorneys general to keep title
42 in place.
In response, the Biden
administration pushed the court
to lift the restrictions, but
not before the Christmas
holiday.
Conservative lawmakers like
Texas governor Greg Abbott say
title 42 expiration would
further overwhelm border
communities.
In El Paso, migrants seeking
asylum are met with more
hardship.
Many that can't find a room in
shelters are left to sleep on
the streets.
>> This is the first time that
we have seen this here in el
Paso.
This is the first time that this
is out of hand.
Jeff: Local officials say they
are opening shelters to
temporarily house migrants ahead
of a cold stretch this weekend.
For more, I'm joined by Getty
images photojournalist John
Moore who just returned from a
trip to El Paso.
Thank you for being with us.
John: It is great to talk with
you.
Jeff: You've spent months
reporting the immigration story
from all sides.
What role do you think
photographers have in covering
this immigration story?
John: Immigration has become
such a political issue, but when
you see photographs and see that
everyone coming across the
border is a human being --
people are not making this long
journey because it is easy.
They are doing it out of
desperation.
Everyone needs to be seen as a
human being with needs, and
photojournalists play an
important role.
Jeff: Let's talk about some of
the images that you've captured,
starting on the Mexico side of
the border around ciudad Juarez.
John: There are thousands of
people on the Mexican side
waiting to get in, and many are
presenting themselves to order
patrol agents on the border.
They often sleep overnight next
to the border fence.
It is very cold in Juarez and el
Paso, and they burn trash to
keep warm.
They are bundled up.
Across the border is El Paso.
People don't think of El Paso as
a huge city, but when you are on
the Mexican side of the border
and see these high-rise
buildings in the background, for
them, it looks very special, and
it is just beyond their grasp.
People are desperate to get
beyond the Gates and get in.
Jeff: You said that the pictures
we remember the most are the
ones that make us feel, and you
have captured so many images of
desperation.
One that stands out to me is
this photo of a Venezuelan
migrant mother who reaches the
u.s.-mexican border with her
three children and breaks down
in tears.
What is the story?
John: I met her and her kids
after they were having a
difficult morning.
I arrived very early in the
darkness and found the Texas
National Guard had deployed.
They had set up concertina wire,
and it was a show of force.
When she and many others walked
to the border, they saw this
bristling American military
presence.
The border was closed for her
and others in that sector at the
time.
She had been traveling for three
months, just her and her
children from Venezuela.
She arrived to Juarez if you
days before, and it was
overwhelming to see all this
barbed wire on the other side of
the river.
Jeff: The border region has been
described as a region where fear
and hope collided, and for the
migrants who did make it through
and did get to El Paso, you have
pictures of a good samaritan
handing out food, even a picture
of migrants watching the world
cup on a cell phone.
Tell me about that.
John: For those who are able to
cross through and apply for
political asylum, their first
stop is shelters where they have
to gather themselves.
They are allowed to get showers.
People wait outside all day long
in order to get this limited
space.
Many people have had to sleep on
the streets of El Paso.
El Paso has a state of emergency
dealing with this migrant surge.
At Christmas, it is tough to see
so many folks having to deal
with the fundamental basic needs
of survival on the street.
Many people are doing things to
ease the trip for these folks,
but the fact is, it is cold
outside.
It is a tough time of year to be
suffering, and with title 42
happening around the holiday
season, it is really
challenging.
Jeff: John Moore, award-winning
photojournalist for Getty
images, thanks for being with
us.
John: Thank you so much.