Juarez City.- Under the Zaragoza-ysleta border bridge, already on the El Paso, Texas side, after crossing the Rio Grande, a migrant family with five adolescents, four small children and six adults waited in front of the concertina that restricted their access to United States to allow elements of the National Guard in Texas to allow them entry.
At least two kilometers to the west, two women with suitcases in hand were also arguing with the officers, who were making calls while interacting with the migrants.
In the middle of these two scenes, a Dominican man and woman were taking a break from their walk, on their way to the international bridge, as the man felt nauseated by the heat and had severe pain in his lower back.
You can no longer see the lines or makeshift camps of migrants on the border between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso that you could see weeks ago on the eve of the end of Title 42, but the migrant flow, although smaller, continues.
On a regular basis
There are others, like Emilis and her family (husband, brother and sister-in-law, as well as three minors), who will not cross like this, irregularly.
They just arrived in Juárez yesterday but will wait to get an appointment through CBP One. “Going back to Venezuela is not an option, not even a thought, because I want us to cross, I want to do things right,” said the 28-year-old migrant. .
They lasted six months in Mexicali, Baja California, Emilis said. There, her brother worked on the construction site and her husband as a merchant, which gave them to rent a small apartment.
They spent all that time trying to get the appointment that would allow them to go to their relatives in Denver, Colorado, but CBP One gave a date to everyone except them, the woman said.
“We changed phones, we changed numbers, we all got in at the same time, and nothing”, but for Emilis and his family there has been no luck.
They will stay in Juárez until they manage to cross through the application, and they are already looking for work and a place to rent to live comfortably.
Without shelter
They will not seek free shelter despite the fact that, for example, the ‘Kiki’ Romero municipal gym, set up as a migrant shelter, is below 40 percent of its capacity, according to information from the Human Rights Directorate of the municipal government of Juarez.
It has that occupancy percentage even when some of the last expelled from the United States arrived under Title 42, explained Santiago González Reyes, head of the Directorate.
Emilis and his family waited in the parade ground with their backpacks while a friend of his called them to confirm the availability of the room for rent. After two days by train, they decided to wait without walking any further.
The flow through the train, Emilis mentioned, was less than in previous weeks. He said that at least 170 more people, of different nationalities, traveled with her, when it was reported the arrival of up to 500 in the wagons of the cargo train of Ferrocarriles de México that passes through Ciudad Juárez.
