Migrants camp on the US-Mexico border amid chaos generated by Texas law SB4

A camp of 100 migrants has taken hold in the border of Mexico with USA between the uncertainty due to the SB4 law Texas, that the governor, Greg Abbott, insists on applying despite judicial rulings.

The foreigners have been camping for five days between the Rio Grande or Grande River and the razor wire fence on the border of Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) with El Paso (USA), under the surveillance of the Texas National Guard

Religious organizations in Juárez plan to bring them blankets, clothing and food, since the low temperatures risk their health while the migrants cry out for food and water, since they cannot return to Mexico to look for supplies.

“Definitely, this law goes against the basic principles of humanity, they are not bad, each of the people who have traveled through other countries to reach the United States are good people,” Carlos Mayorga, from the Angeles Messengers Peace Collective, told EFE.

“It is necessary for politicians to understand that we need to provide fundamental and humanitarian care to these people and children”he added.

In limbo

Migrants are in limbo before the SB4 law, which would make it a crime for a foreigner to enter Texas irregularly, in addition to empowering state forces to carry out immigration arrests and deportations.

The regulations unleashed chaos since Tuesday, when the United States Supreme Court first allowed the law to be applied before hearing substantive arguments, but in the evening the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals suspended its entry into force, although Abbott has warned that its Government will continue with the arrest of migrants.

The entry of the law caused migrants to rush to the border, where, faced with the impossibility of crossing, they have been left stranded between the Rio Grande and the first barrier in the United States, a razor wire fence installed by the Governor Abbott.

Mayorga considered that the actions of the authorities of Texas and the United States go against all humanitarian principles, saying that they have heard testimonies from migrants who have suffered violence from organized crime that kidnaps and extorts them, but have also suffered mistreatment by the authorities. .

“We see that there is no compassion on the part of the authorities, and they treat them like criminals. “Mexicans and Central Americans are not criminals,” he added.

Migrants stand firm

Despite the risks and restrictions, migrants at the border commented that they will not give up.

“I have been traveling for a month and a half, I have slept several times in the mountains, I am poorly eaten, dehydrated, we have had the need to continue working to continue advancing“said Alfredo Maquín, a Guatemalan who arrived at the border after a month and a half of crossing.

He explained that he is looking to enter the United States to get money to support his family of three daughters and two sons, as well as his wife.

“We would like you to support us in giving us permission to enter the United States. We come with the goal of coming to work, not coming to harm anyone, and earning our money honestly,” he said on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.