Posted on 09/04/2004 11:03:25 AM PDT by Dubya
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico - The second-floor dorms are sparse but clean, full of bunk beds with sheets but no blankets, and the added amenity of a cracked mirror in the women's room.
From the windows, one can see the green banks of the Rio Grande, the brown ribbon of river, and a line of train cars on the American side of the border in Laredo.
"So close, but yet so far," said Jose Antonio Moran, one of the volunteers at the Migrants House, one of several way-stations along the Mexico border that offers a bed, food, medical care and even clothing to immigrants waiting to cross, usually illegally, into the United States.
Authorities caught more than 1 million people illegally crossing the border last year, with about 65,000 caught in Nuevo Laredo's sister city of Laredo, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. There is no exact data on the number people who cross undetected, but Mexican authorities say they have seen an increase of people waiting on their side of the border.
To recognize the enormity of the migration and the plight of the migrant, social service groups throughout Mexico are staging their sixth annual "Migrants Day" on Sunday. Demonstrations are also planned in Laredo and other U.S. cities.
"It's not a good economic situation, so they come," Sister Juanita Monticillo says of the migrants who primarily come from interior Mexico and Central and South America to Nuevo Leon.
Migrants House, run by the Catholic church and funded by donations from Mexican civic groups, can provide beds to 120 people a night. The house is full most nights, and sometimes people sleep on the floor when no more beds are available, she said.
"It's not just to give emergency services, but also to create awareness that the problem will stay here," Monticillo said.
It's accepted that the migrants are about to risk their lives by swimming across the Rio Grande, entrusting their lives to whatever smuggler their contacts may have arranged. It's also assumed that a good number are in Mexico illegally. But it's also known that many migrants are assaulted or robbed by the time they reach northern Mexico, often by Mexican police.
"These are people that deserve dignity and respect," Monticillo said. "They have hunger, they are tired, they are sick."
Marcio Velazquez Garcia, a 23-year-old immigrant from Honduras, fit that description. He was one of the first in line at the house on a recent night. Healthy but thin, Garcia explained this was his third attempt to migrate to northern Mexico.
The first time, he was caught in Mexico City and deported back to Honduras. The second time, he was caught on top of a train headed to San Luis Potosi in Central Mexico, put in a detention center and then deported back to Honduras. He caught tuberculosis after being in jail and had to undergo six months of treatment.
This time, he reached the U.S.-Mexico border, though $50 of the roughly $90 he had saved went to bribe Mexican immigration officials to look the other way while he moved north.
He laughed when asked if he had any fear of the next leg of his journey, which he thought would involve swimming the Rio Grande and getting on a cargo train.
"Scared of the what? The river? It's a puny river, I can swim. I've already gone across today, but we saw the (Border Patrol) and came back," he said. "And the trains have to go to the north."
Dr. Jose Antu, who lives and treats people on both side of the border, said he's seen a drastic change in the neighborhoods near the bridges to America, especially since the 1980s peso devaluation devastated the Mexican economy. The neighborhoods were once residential, now they're places for trade and smugglers.
He points to some Border Patrol vans parked across the river.
"They're there all the time - but not ALL the time," Antu said. "Everyone goes when they have the shift change, when they go for coffee and doughnuts. The river over here is not that deep, it's short."
He said at night, he sees people running through the streets toward the river. During the day, Antu sees the migrants coming back, with busloads at a time being let off at the bridge by U.S. law enforcement agents.
Many of the Central and South American migrants stay in Mexican border cities such as Nuevo Laredo rather than go home.
Vivo Saul Mendez, 35, of Guatemala, said he had lost all his money because the U.S. Border Patrol caught his guide at a Laredo convenience store. Mendez walked back to Mexico, where at least he could go to the Mission House and get food, he said.
His clothes hung on his tall frame, and he said he hadn't eaten in two days. He said would be happy to find work in Nuevo Laredo, but he had no intention of going back to Guatemala.
"There's nothing to do there," he said. "At least it's something here."
Real hypocrisy here --- Mexico and Guatemala are both so-called Catholic countries but the Catholic Church doesn't want to ruffle the feathers of the rich Catholic elites and tell them to fix their corruption and social injustice. They'll demand marxist changes in the USA but won't fix the real problem.
There HAS to be a number of violations here:
Health restrictions on how many occupants can be there which are NON-family.
Food preparation inspections because of the high numbers of people eating there.
Sanitation facilities not adequate for high numbers of persons.
Aiding and abbetting criminals who are intruding into USA.
If you are coming here illegally, you are a criminal.
Providing aid and comfort to the enemy- terrorists.
Something must be done about this. This isn't compassion, this is an outright abuse of USA laws.
I got mad too fast- I re-read it and saw that it is SOUTH of our border. Sorry for the rant.
Too much time spent on a problem that none of you can fix. Sorta of reminds me of the Yogi saying "Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, It's too busy"
Sorry, had to say this. Hey FITZ, I know you'll hit this thread eventually. "I love you man". :)))
Oh I see you already have been here!! FITZ FITZ FITZ. Have you come up with a solution yet?? You know, this nagging immigration issue.
Those damm immigrants are so anoying!!
A nationalized Spaniard :)))))
I love our Republic.
Yes -- my solution --- fix up that mess we call Mexico --- an extremely wealthy country with vast natural resources -- better than ours in many areas --- make the elitles (many who are Catholic) change the injust system they have in place even though it makes and keeps them extremely rich. Why doesn't Mexico build up it's middle class so this level of desperation doesn't exist for most of it's people?
And you're right --- only the Mexicans themselves can fix their problem --- but they aren't being inspired to fix it when they can use massive, unlimited immigration as a way to keep the pressure off themselves --- while they make off with billions of dollars of the wealth of Mexico.
Fitz, I hardly dissagree with you. But in Mexico there is no middle class, so fixing that problem makes the immigration issue here look like childs play.
If Mexico got their stuff together they would be a very strong and competetive economy. BUT they will not because we are next door and we have a middle class (Its too easy).
The come here to join the poor and achieve middle class after a few years.
JUST like all folk from other lands.
The reason people come here is because we offer a middle class to shoot for, the folk that come here hope to improve, enrich, and contribute to the system.
The article is talking about illegal alien lawbreakers, not immigrants. And yes, you're right, illegal alien lawbreakers are very annoying.
But I'm sure you're aware of the worsening situation in Mexico -- the big protests in Mexico City which shut down the major streets, the sharp leftist turn in the July elections and a very real possibility that Mexico could elect what our leaders are calling a Communist --- but I don't know if he really is or isn't -- to replace Fox in 2 years. Take a look at the 16 executions in Ciudad Juarez just since August 10 --- some in broad daylight with bystanders being injured. We need a more stable neighbor -- and they won't be more stable until they establish a middle class. The massive exodus of people out is not bringing about stability but a lot more instability.
I guess you also missed the big spike in poverty levels here now -- including large increases in "extreme poverty" --- these people have no means to support themselves, they have no health insurance or means to obtain it. Someone's got to pay and the border residents are seeing very large increases in property taxes which could cause collapses soon. Only 2 out of 3 children in this region will get a high school diploma, most cannot read or speak English well, unwed teen pregnancy is higher than anywhere else in the USA. Only 34% of the population here has private insurance --- and you're suggesting massive immigration by indigent people is good for us?
Give them all a stash of pot, a case of vienna sausages and a couple dozen GameBoys.
They're in Mexico.
The obvious solution is to annex Mexico as the 51st state.
FITZ, you know my position on how poorly we handle our own Hemisphere. We need to only look around to realize that we choke castro more and more, he is influencing our neighbors.
Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and possibly Mexico.
No, I am not suggesting that at all. I suggest that the poverty level in the us and the immigration issue have been around more or less the same time.
I suggest that both need to be addressed
True --- and an article like this has some interesting statistics --
Poverty rate in El Paso continues to increase
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040827-161266.shtml
Wages are dropping, number of high school diplomas actually dropping not going up like you would think.
"The portion of those with at least a high-school diploma fell to 64.1 percent in 2003 from 65.8 percent in 2002.
Percent who speak language other than English at home 78.2 77.3 76.7 74.8"
FITZ, the system is broken. I agree. But as far the border towns are concerned some are good and some suck. Most likely the local politicos.
Well, I could make you angry with a list of Texas municipalities, large and small, who don't cooperate with the INS. That's only if you really want to be angry though.
ping
More likely the local law enforcement.
With the exception that these folks want to disregard our laws while doing it. The U.S. already takes in more LEGAL immigrants than the rest of the world combined, so it's not like we aren't doing our share.
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