CIUDAD JUAREZ | The situation is critical on the Mexico-Texas border, where thousands of migrants are thronging, trying by any means necessary to cross to the United States and some to Canada.
• Also read – Great report: The route of the migrants
“I’ve almost made it, after that I just have to cross one country,” predicts Venezuelan Luis Quijada, full of emotion, who dreams of living with us and learning French. “If I don’t get through legally by May 11th, I will find another way,” he said firmly.
Time is ticking for him, as it is for a throng of asylum seekers crammed into makeshift camps and shelters in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez — an estimated 35,000 at the end of April.
An emergency restriction called Title 42, which has allowed migrants to be expeditiously deported to Mexico since the pandemic began, expires this Thursday.
After that, the authorities more often resort to a very strict law on illegal entry, which leads to an entry ban for 5 years.
Several of Pastor Arturo Ochoa’s charges have hastily left his shelter in recent days, fearing that political changes could aggravate their situation.
Nora T. Lamontagne / JdeM
Pastor Arturo Ochoa of La Plenitud Church in Ciudad Juárez receives around thirty migrants in an old bank that has been converted into a makeshift shelter.
“I have the impression that they are becoming more and more desperate. They make hasty decisions, they refuse to wait,” remarks with dismay the man who watches over thirty asylum seekers at La Plenitud church in Ciudad Juárez.
Nora T. Lamontagne / JdeM
The Sanctuary of the Church of La Plenitud in Ciudad Juárez, where about thirty migrants live.
reinforcements
The end of Title 42 has already been delayed twice in the past year, each time resulting in erratic waves of registrations.
This time, the Biden administration decided to send 1,500 troops to help in the sector between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, the busiest on the border.
More than 265,000 people have passed through since October, despite attempts by the United States to stop them.
The border between the two cities has nothing to do with the miles of countryside and lack of surveillance that Quebec shares with the United States. Even less as Roxham’s small dirt road is blocked by a concrete block.
The most dangerous 100 m
Here, migrants of all ages are confronted with the Río Grande’s filthy waters, rows of barbed wire, a militarized border and the infamous 30-foot-tall steel wall that separates two major cities.
Nora T. Lamontagne / JdeM Nora T. Lamontagne / JdeM
Everything has been done to make the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, where the Río Grande flows, as anti-immigrant as possible.
“They arrive here rejoicing that they are only 100 meters from the border, without realizing that it is the most difficult 100 meters of their entire journey,” says Mexican muralist and activist Jorge “Yorch” Pérez.
But for many migrants, who have already given their all to get to the border, this obstacle is just another one on the way to a better life.
Nora T. Lamontagne / JdeM Nora T. Lamontagne / JdeM
Venir, 22, and Cassandra, 31, both Haitians, are staying in shelters in Ciudad Juárez until they can continue their journey to the United States.
“I just want to find a quiet place and be able to help my family in Haiti,” sighs 22-year-old Venir, who was listening to Garou at full volume in his room during our stay in a makeshift shelter.
In collaboration with Itzel Aguilera
Title 42 coming soon
-Allows the United States to deport migrants to Mexico under the pretext of public health without receiving their asylum application
– Set up by the Trump administration during the pandemic
-Has been used over 2.7 million times since 2020
– Expires May 11 at 11:59 p.m.
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