Migrants are showing up at the U.S. southern border in historic numbers. Here's why

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/12/ [login to see] /migrants-u-s-southern-border-historic-numbers-why
"Katastrofa. Katastrofa."

A man named Piotr repeats this like a mantra. On a warm fall evening in Tijuana, he's the first in a long line to request asylum in the U.S.

"Katastrofa," he says again, on the verge of tears. It's the Russian word for catastrophe. Piotr, a middle-aged man who requested that his last name be withheld to protect relatives back home, left Moscow more than six months ago with his immediate family — his wife and two teenage sons.

He says the war with Ukraine had made their lives unlivable in Russia, and he fears for his sons — military conscription there is obligatory. "Russia is so difficult," he says. "I can't describe it. It's so difficult for me. Katastrofa!"