Hundreds of migrants have set up camp near a vacant hotel on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington. Around 240 people have created a makeshift community out of tarps alongside a highway to the city’s south. One migrant, Kabongo Kambila Ringo, said he hoped that local officials would grant them access to the nearby motel. The Congolese immigrant told reporters that life in the camp was “very difficult” because there was nowhere to wash or eat.
The migrants arrived after word spread that a nearby church in Tukwila had helped hundreds and provided them with cash and accommodation. Many of the immigrants, from Congo, Angola, and Venezuela, set up the camps after church money ran out and they were evicted from local hotels.
Ian Greer, an activist with pro-migration groups, said the camps aim to persuade local officials to grant access to the neighboring motel, which is under local authority control and set aside for emergency use. Officials said they did not intend to grant the migrants’ wishes.
Meanwhile, President Biden unveiled his plans to restrict migration, including a pledge to ban migrants from claiming asylum if border officials consider the numbers overwhelming. The President insisted he believed immigration is the “lifeblood of America,” but he had “no choice” but to act unilaterally because Congress disagreed on a legislative solution.
Republicans said the move was a cynical electioneering policy aimed at persuading voters he intends to protect the southern border. Donald Trump said the President was “pretending to do something,” while GOP Congress members argued that the measures do not go far enough.
Progressives in the Democrat party were equally critical. Pramila Jayapal of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said she was “profoundly disappointed” and denounced the Biden pledges as a step in the wrong direction. The President, however, told Democrats that “doing nothing is not an option.”
Under the plans, migrants may still claim asylum if the daily average number does not exceed 1,500.