Dozens of migrants arrived again at the highly protected U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, while the Border Patrol officially recorded 1.8 million crossings at the southern border in the past 12 months.
In Eagle Pass, Texas, migrants from Honduras or Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande that separates the United States from Mexico and encountered a nearly impassable barbed wire wall that barred them from entering American territory.
“I’m happy because I’m just one step away… but I’m sad because we can’t cross the border,” admits Noe Zelaya, a Honduran who lives with his wife and two children, ages 12 and 5 is in front of the border.
“They won’t get through,” one of the border guards warns, as Noe’s wife begs for help next to her crying son.
“We couldn’t stand the maras anymore,” says Noe, a mechanic in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, citing organized crime in his country.
The family crossed the river with water up to their chests, just like a Venezuelan couple arriving at Eagle Pass under a blazing sun.
“I’m sad because I thought it would be easier to come here,” said Juan Diaz, 28, a Venezuelan army deserter who fled his country’s political and economic crisis.
– “I will fight” –
“But my dream is to get there, so I will fight,” he adds.
The young man continued upstream until he found a gap in the thick jungle of barbed wire.
On the other side of the border, he surrendered to the border police stationed a few meters away.
Thousands of people fleeing their country have arrived at various border crossings in Texas in recent days.
In August, the US announced the establishment of a refugee aid program.
Last month, 232,972 migrants crossed the southern border, an increase compared to previous months.
Under pressure from Republican opposition who accuse it of turning the southern border into a sieve, the Biden administration is trying to curb illegal immigration at the border while opening more legal channels.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is scheduled to meet with Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Saturday in the Texas border town of McAllen.
published September 23 at 7:16 p.m., AFP
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