As they endure the bite of a winter storm wreaking havoc on the area, hundreds of migrants are camped out in the cold at Mexico's northern border over Christmas, hoping for a prompt lifting of restrictions imposed by the US.
Many migrants will spend the Christmas holiday in what Mexico's weather agency described as "a mass of Arctic air" after the US Supreme Court this week decided that limitations known as Title 42 could remain in effect temporarily."I will remain here. Where can I go next? In Reynosa, a community over the border from McAllen, Texas, a 32-year-old Haitian immigrant named Walmix Juin was getting ready for the weekend in a flimsy tent. "I never imagined spending Christmas in this way."
The border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa, where thousands of people are camped outside or in rudimentary shelters, are forecast to see temperatures that will be around freezing on Saturday and only marginally improve on Sunday.
Temperatures are expected to plummet to minus six degrees Celsius further west in Ciudad Juarez, where hundreds of migrants have been waiting in line to apply for asylum at the border with El Paso, Texas (21 degrees Fahrenheit). A lot of people have been camping on the streets.
"We submitted ourselves. The Associated Press was informed that Edwin Lopez, a resident of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, had turned himself in to immigration authorities.
He claimed that he, his wife, and their three sons had been waiting for two months.
"Immigration drove us out. Because, according to what they told us, all access to and from Central America has been restricted. Hondurans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and El Salvadorans are not entering the US. We're anticipating the repeal of Title 42.
In recent weeks, unprecedented numbers in El Paso, Texas, either crossed illegally or were detained and released. The Texas National Guard was sent to the border this week in response.There isn't much time for Christmas celebrations because the city's shelters are already overflowing, and there are a lot of migrants camped out in the streets in the chilly weather.Daniel Morgan, 25, an El Paso resident, arrived at one camp this week wearing a Santa hat and a green sweater with bows and little stockings in the hopes that it "might spread a grin."
As he delivered a batch of around 100 baked goods, Morgan told the Associated Press, "It's a tremendously difficult topic, and I'm no expert at it. "Christ entered the earth to surrender to us, and for me, that's like the main reason I descended: to give out to other people what I have."
Without giving them the option to apply for asylum, Title 42 permits the US to send migrants back to Mexico or other nations. Before the court's decision, it was scheduled to terminate on December 21. Some politicians are concerned that if more migrants arrive, their city may not be able to handle the influx because it is unclear when it will end.
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