El Paso (USA), May 9 (EFE).- Shelters, local authorities and the Red Cross have mobilized their resources on the southern border of the United States to continue receiving even more migrants, who are expected to cross the border from Mexico when Title 42 is lifted next Thursday, a rule that allows their expulsion on the fly for public health reasons.
The Marketing Director of The Rescue Mission of El Paso shelter, Nicole Reulet, tells Efe that in December 2022 they opened a new building to house migrants and that this weekend, they have inaugurated a second one with the help of the Red Cross of USA.
In total, they offer bed and food to 240 people in both buildings, one for families and the second for single men and women who sleep in large rooms with hammocks and blankets provided by the Red Cross.
In addition, these facilities, leased from the El Paso Water company, have two truck trailers with showers and laundry services.
“This Wednesday we are going to see many, many migrants pass by,” says Reulet, referring to the lifting of Title 42, a rule imposed during the Administration of former President Donald Trump under the pretext of the covid-19 pandemic.
RED CROSS IS INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF ATTENTION TO MIGRANTS
The United States Red Cross does not offer specific information about El Paso or the border, and they have limited themselves to sending a statement in which they insist on the support of the humanitarian aid organization for “migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the United States.” .
Its presence on the ground is more than evident, with personnel and humanitarian material in the areas where they are needed.
In general, the Red Cross ensures that its help “may include support to organizations with services for the people in their care, through training and assistance supplies such as cots, blankets, hygiene items, first aid kits and towels.” And depending on local needs, your help could also include providing food, water, sanitation and mental health support.
Reulet explained to Efe that in his center, which mainly cares for people who have already applied for asylum, people usually stay between three days and two weeks, depending on each case.
According to her account, single women are usually the ones who stay in the shelter the longest due to the difficulty of finding the money and the means to continue on their way.
At the center they help put them in touch with people or organizations willing to pay for their trip, known as sponsors, and transport them to the bus station or airport, once they have bought the tickets.
In this sense, he points out that the most common destinations are New York, Chicago (Illinois), Miami (Florida) and Dallas (Texas).
She details that the three main shelters in El Paso are the one where they work, the Opportunity Center and the Welcome Center, and the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Indeed, Daniel Mora, priest of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in whose surroundings there are a thousand migrants camped in very precarious conditions, denounced Efe that “the situation is a humanitarian crisis” and that “all the shelters are full to burst”.
Mora also pointed out that the diocese has held numerous coordination meetings to prepare for a greater arrival of people and that there are numerous parishes prepared to open their doors if the flow of people crossing the border increases further.
Many of the migrants camped around the temple have begun turning themselves in to the Border Guard after the government’s announcement that a raid is underway.
MIGRANTS TELL THEIR TRAGEIES
All migrants tell of their tragedy, like the Venezuelan Rosbeli Flores, who crossed the border with her ex-partner’s seven-year-old daughter, and the immigration authorities took her away.
Through tears, Flores tells Efe that Roddrianny, as the girl is called, is not her biological daughter, but her ex-partner’s, who stayed in Honduras and told her to go ahead with the girl and then catch up with them.
Now, Flores says that she is also concerned because she cannot locate the girl’s mother and that she has contacted an uncle of hers who recently arrived in New York to claim her.
It is just one more drama of the thousands that cross the border every day.
