Congo Migrants Join the Border Surge

Brimming with an overflow of Central American migrants, the South Texas city of San Antonio became a drop-off point this month for hundreds more asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

CityHall officials – scrambling for French translators – told local media outletsthat the arrival of African migrants caught them by surprise. But policeofficers told FAIR they got a heads up that 1,200 more Congolese were en routefrom the U.S.-Mexico border.

In addition to being ravaged by a bloody civil war, the DRC is also wracked by one of the deadliest Ebola outbreaks in history, with more than 2,000 cases reported in the last 10 months.

Fleeing the chaos anddisease, migrants said they left their Central African homeland for Brazilbefore turning north toward the U.S. Therefugees who arrived in the Alamo City reportedly traveled with a group throughEcuador.

While San Antonio and local charities raise $14,000 for bus tickets to send the Congolese deeper into the U.S. interior, the situation again highlights the pressing need for safe third-country agreements. Under such accords, asylum seekers are required to apply for protection in the country where they first land — not the country where they ultimately want to settle.

Reaching a safethird-country pact with Mexico is a top priority for the Trump administration,and it ought to be. But that should not permit other countries to continue wavingthrough migrants from the DRC and other trouble spots.