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America’s misunderstood border crisis, in 8 charts

For all the attention on the border, the root causes of migration and the most promising solutions to the US’s broken immigration system are often overlooked.

Crowds of people are seen riding the top of a freight car. Several other people hold onto the sides of the freight car. Many are waving at the camera.

Correction, May 14, 3:20 pm ET: This story, originally published May 12, included a chart on the Biden administration’s use of detention of migrants that initially underrepresented the policy by only depicting the number of migrants detained who had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and not those arrested by other organizations like Customs and Border Protection. The full numbers are now depicted.

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