In the first two years of Biden’s presidency, only approximately 37,000 refugees were admitted into the US—less than any president since the US refugee resettlement program began in 1980.
Removal of the containers has created a stark visual shift in affected sections of Arizona's southern landscape as a new governor takes power and inherits the $171 million project from her predecessor.
Federal agencies have told Arizona the construction on US land is unlawful, and environmental groups say the containers could imperil natural water systems and endanger species.
Migrants have been expelled from the United States more than 2.4 million times since the rule took effect in March 2020, denying migrants rights to seek asylum under US and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Families from Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, India and dozens of other countries arrive in Yuma after wading through the knee-deep Colorado River.
“I had a home in Michoacán, a good life,” Rosario said. “My husband and I got married and we built a beautiful life together, but we had to leave. We dropped everything in order to just feel secure again.”