The flashpoint of the migrant crisis has been Eagle Pass in Texas – besieged with 10,000 migrants this week alone – many of whom are talking about economic opportunities out of fear for their lives at home.
A Post reporter watched Thursday morning as Alexander Mendez, 23, of Venezuela and 30 others — including women and children — crossed the Rio Grande Thursday morning.
“I’m going to New York,” Mendez said, noting that her sister, aunt and cousin were joining her.
He says he already has an Empire State cousin and hopes to carve out a better existence in his new surroundings.
“I want to explore New York, work and get a better life,” he said after a two-month trip to the border.
The group crossed the Rio Grande under the crowded Camino Real International Bridge.
“Attention, attention,” shouted the loudspeaker in a prerecorded message in Spanish.
“It is illegal to cross here. This area is secured with wire and there is no entry. Go to the bridge. Passing here is illegal. Stay in Mexico.”
A migrant child from Venezuela smiles as he is placed on the shoulder of an adult as his group prepares to cross the Rio Grande river on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA Migrants walk on the river bank looking for a hole in the fence after crossing the Rio Grande river in an attempt to enter US on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA Hundreds of newly arrived immigrants wait to be escorted by US Border Patrol to a temporary transit center after crossing the Rio Grande river into the US from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas on Dec. 21. 2023. Go Nakamura for NY Post
Officials say more than 4,000 illegal travelers have been detained in the Del Rio sector of the Lone Star State in just 24 hours.
Most will cite seeking asylum as their reason for crossing illegally into the US, meaning they must have a “credible fear” of danger if they are returned to their home country.
The 10,000 who have turned themselves in to the Border Patrol in Eagle Pass this week is the equivalent of about a third of the small town’s permanent population, putting a huge strain on its resources.
Beleaguered border agents worked in vain to stem the human tsunami, rushing to repair holes in razor wire while migrants calmly climbed the barriers around them.
A migrant nearly drops a child into the water of the Rio Grande river while crossing from Mexico to the US near Piedras Negras, Mexico on Dec. 20, 2023. Go Nakamura for the NY Post A baby sits on the shoulders of two adults as migrants cross the Rio Grande River in attempt to enter the US on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA An aerial photo shows a group of migrants crossing the Rio Grande river on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA
The Post observed migrants covering barbed wire fences with rugs and sweatshirts to prevent injury before climbing.
Three Guatemalan men take off their shoes and socks before crossing a river bank in the area.
“My brother has been in New York for two years,” said one of them.
“We’re all going to New York.”
Migrants from Venezuela prepare to cross the river during their final push to the US, in the Mexican city of Piedras Negras on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA A line of migrants observed by The Post crossing the Rio Grande river, carrying bags of their belongings on the water on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA A local man dressed in a Santa costume hands out snacks to migrants from Venezuela as they walk towards the town of Piedras Negras before crossing into the US on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA
Johan Rodriguez, 20, told The Post through an interpreter that he arrived in Piedras Negras in Mexico on the Texas border after a grueling three-month journey by foot and bicycle that began in Venezuela.
“I traveled through Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and now Mexico,” he said under the scorching sun Thursday after crossing into the US and joining the crowd at Eagle Pass.
Rodriguez said he came to America solely for economic reasons, and was not in danger back home.
“There is no chance in Venezuela,” he said.
“It’s not dangerous but the economy is bad.”
Migrants climb into containers placed at the border as they illegally cross into the US on Dec. 21, 2023. GO NAKAMURA An immigrant from Venezuela told The Post that he went to America “purely for economic reasons, and was not in any danger go home.” GO NAKAMURA After crossing the Rio Grande river, migrants have met the walls of shipping containers with barbed wire barring the entrance to the US. GO TO NAKAMURA
Rodriguez said he had no money, but hoped to join his brother who was already in Maine.
He plans to cross the border in the next few days, but says he needs to rest and recuperate before his final push into the US.
“I am waiting for more families to arrive here. By God’s grace I will cross (the Rio Grande) tomorrow.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
