(Eagle Pass) Dozens of migrants arrived again at the heavily protected U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, while Border Police officially recorded 1.8 million crossings at its southern border over the past 12 months.
In Eagle Pass, Texas, migrants from Honduras or Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande, which separates the United States from Mexico, only to encounter a nearly impassable wall of barbed wire preventing them from entering American territory.
Photography by Paula Ramon, AFP
Migrants run after crossing the Rio Grande River on the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 22.
“I’m happy because I’m one step away… but I’m sad because we can’t cross,” says Noe Zelaya, a Honduran standing at the border with his wife and two children, ages 12 and 5.
“They can’t get through,” warns a border guard, while Noe’s wife pleads for help alongside her crying son.
“We can’t stand the maras anymore,” says Noe, a mechanic in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, referring to 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 the hot sun.
“I feel sad because I thought it would be easier to get here,” said Juan Diaz, 28, a Venezuelan army deserter who fled his country’s political and economic crisis.
Photo by Jackie Monello, The Associated Press
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo River from Piedras Negras, Mexico, to Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 22.
“I’m going to fight”
“But my dream is to get there, so I will fight,” he adds.
The young man continued up the river until he found an opening in the thick barbed wire forest. On the other side of the border, he surrendered to border police stationed a few meters away.
Thousands of people fleeing their countries have arrived in recent days at various border crossings in Texas.
Photo by Jesus Olarte, AFP
Border agents detain migrants along the Rio Grande River on the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, September 22.
In August, the United States announced that it would establish a refugee assistance program. Last month, 232,972 migrants crossed the southern border, an increase compared to previous months.
The Biden administration, under pressure from the Republican opposition, which accuses it of turning the southern border into a sieve, is trying to limit 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 in the border city of McAllen, Texas, on Saturday.
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