Humanitarian Crisis At The US-Mexico Border: Stories Of Migrants, Asylum Seekers And Children

Town Square with Ernie Manouse airs at 3 p.m. CT. Tune in on 88.7FM, listen online or subscribe to the podcast. Join the discussion at 888-486-9677, questions@townsquaretalk.org or @townsquaretalk.

The Biden administration has been scrambling to address a growing immigration crisis on the US southern border.

There are now more than 14,000 unaccompanied children in US custody.

The surge at the border is on track to be the biggest in nearly 2 decades.

Today, we talk about immigration and the border crisis.

Experts help us understand the current situation and how we got here.

What has led to the record increase in migrants since January?

What policies and issues have created this current situation?

And what can we do to fix this humanitarian crisis?

At the top of the show, a local health official also explains today’s breaking news that Texas will open eligibility to all adults starting Monday, March 29.

Guests are:

Michael W. "Mac" McClendon:

• Director, Harris County Office of Public Health Preparedness & Response

Charles Foster:

• Immigration attorney
• Chairman of the Houston-based law firm Foster LLP

Sarah Pierce:

• Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute

Rebecca Maria Torres:

• Associate professor in the Department of Geography & the Environment
• An Associate with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas-Austin

Houston Public Media reporter Matt Harab also joins Ernie with the Houston Health Department’s preparations to begin vaccinating all adults, starting next Monday – including comments about the city's vaccine supply, capacity to vaccinate, and equity and access.

Town Square with Ernie Manouse is a gathering space for the community to come together and discuss the day's most important and pressing issues.

Audio from today’s show will be available after 5 p.m. CT. We also offer a free podcast here, on iTunes, and other apps.