Thousands of migrants converge under Texas bridge, posing new challenge for Biden

[IceWizard]

Thousands of migrants converge under
Texas bridge, posing new challenge for Biden








CIUDAD ACUÑA, Mexico, Sept 16 (Reuters)

Thousands of migrants have converged under the bridge that connects
Del Rio, Texas and Mexico's Ciudad Acuña, creating a makeshift camp with
few basic services in intense heat in the latest border emergency facing
U.S. President Joe Biden.

Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano said that as of early Thursday evening 10,503
migrants were under the Del Rio International Bridge, up from 8,200 in the morning.

Food and water has been scarce, around 20 migrants told Reuters, and
temperatures have risen to around 99 Fahrenheit (37 Celsius). Reuters
witnessed hundreds of migrants wading through the Rio Grande river and
back into Mexico to stock up on essentials they say they are not receiving
on the American side.

The migrants are mostly Haitians, with Cubans, Venezuelans and
Nicaraguans also present.

The squalid conditions are reflective of the humanitarian challenge facing Biden
as border arrests hover around 20-year highs. U.S. authorities arrested more
than 195,000 migrants at the Mexican border in August, according to government
data released on Wednesday.

Ernesto, a 31-year-old Haitian migrant, slipped back into Mexico on Thursday to
buy water and food - for the fourth time, he said, since arriving in the United States
on Monday morning. Ernesto, who declined to give his surname to protect his identity,
said he and his 3-year-old daughter had not been fed at the camp, where migrants
are jostling for shade.

Sometimes, he said, he runs to avoid Mexican migration officials but is usually not
bothered by them. "But now money is running out," he added.

Migrants showed Reuters tickets with numbers they had received from U.S. Border Patrol.
Several said other migrants told them they could be stuck at the camp for up to five days.

Border Patrol said in a statement it was increasing staffing in Del Rio to facilitate a "safe,
humane and orderly process." Drinking water, towels and portable toilets have been provided,
the statement added, while migrants wait to be transported to facilities.







Biden, a Democrat who took office in January, has rolled back many of the hardline
immigration measures of his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

But he has been caught between pro-migrant groups and some Democrats who have
criticized him for not doing more to help migrants, and opponents who say his policies
have encouraged illegal immigration.

Del Rio is in Val Verde County, which voted for Trump in 2020. Some residents in this
sprawling, bilingual border town say they feel abandoned by the federal government
on border security.

"Are they doing anything to stop them from coming?" one woman said while
she looked down at the encampment while driving over the bridge.



'WHEN ARE WE LEAVING?'


Carlos, a 27-year-old Venezuelan who said he left his home after graduating university
in July, said he thought the camp had doubled in size since he arrived on Tuesday. Carlos,
who declined to give his full name, said he had only $10 left, and that there were 400
families ahead of him in the queue for processing.

Both migrants and Mexican officials said many more people are expected in coming days.
Some told Reuters they had chosen to cross here because the river is shallow and they felt
there was comparatively less cartel activity.

Jeff Jeune, a 27-year-old Haitian who was reselling water bottles for a 3 peso (15 cent) profit,
said he and his young family were exhausted, hungry and sleeping on the ground. He fretted
about his kids falling ill in the makeshift camp.

"My ten-year-old asks: 'When are we leaving?' He's always asking that."




Reporting by
Alexandra Ulmer,
editing by Ross Colvin,
Diane Craft and
Rosalba O'Brien