Thousands of migrants from South and Central America were barred from seeking asylum in the United States, leading some to consider risky, illegal methods of crossing the border, The New York Times reports.
Ana Galeno Valdez, a migrant woman who is six months pregnant and living in a tent in Matamoros, Mexico, told the Times that she can see the nearby town of Brownsville, Texas just over the Rio Grande river. She once tried to cross on a raft, but was caught by U.S. immigration officials and sent back to Mexico.
“When I’m this close and I can see it, I’m tempted to think I should just swim across again, but for what?” She told the Times.
Just last week, a 26-year-old woman and her toddler drowned while trying to cross the river in that same city, a few months after another parent and child drowned while trying to get across during the summer.
The State Department issued a travel advisory for Mexico last April, warning travelers to exercise caution in the country, and in certain states in particular. It notes that the city of Matamoros is located in a Level 4 risk area, and people are advised not to travel there because “violent crime, such as murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion, and sexual assault, is common.”
Although the U.S. and the United Nations have provided free transportation for some who were kept from seeking asylum, many migrants remain trapped between remaining in a violent place and returning to a violent place.
“It is a question of stress, of despair, because it’s not pleasant being here,” Glady Cañas Aguilar, a Mexican aid worker, told the Times. “They become frustrated, agitated, distrustful. These are the feelings of the moment they are living.”
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