There have been unprecedented migration flows at the US-Mexico border in recent days. Authorities have taken a range of measures to stop illegal border crossings as thousands of people continue their journey against all odds.
More than 9,000 migrants arrived at North America’s most important border crossing in a single day. One of the highest points is Eagle Pass in the state of Texas, where the American dream is visualized and appeals to those who want to achieve it.
On foot, by bus, paying extremely expensive tickets and vaccinations at checkpoints in exchange for progress, thousands of people from different countries arrive and wait to be welcomed by the giant of the continent.
Many of them say the same immigration officials take them off buses and force them to make long return trips and walk between cities where they work to pay expensive tolls to get ahead.
Mexico is quite an odyssey for them, and they claim that this is the country where they make the most money to make ends meet.
Measures to curb the flow of illegal migrants
But the dramatic increase in migrants is also straining local resources and exceeding the capacity of facilities. Because of this, Eagle Pass authorities have declared a state of emergency.
Meanwhile, Ferromex temporarily grounded 60 trains in Mexico this week to prevent migrants from traveling in the freight cars known as “the beast.”
The National Migration Institute also deployed agents to stop the flow of people and, using a drone, they managed to locate migrants who were already on board the trains.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico launched a campaign featuring the mythical character Chavo del 8, known as “Kiko,” played by actor Carlos Villagrán, spreading a message against illegal migration and the coyotes and human traffickers who exploit them people’s need to get money.
For now, anyone attempting to remain in the United States illegally could be sentenced to deportation and face consequences that include “a ban on re-entry for at least five years.”
The border remains closed and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is expected to meet his counterpart Joe Biden in Washington in November to discuss strategies to contain the crisis.
