More than 4,000 immigrants were expelled from the United States this year, while Donald Trump intensifies his repression with massive deportations. In response, aid groups help undocumented border posts.
It was one of his major campaign promises and he held it: the new American president Donald Trump took less than 24 hours to approve the first expulsions of migrants.
Two weeks have passed since his return to the White House and the signing of the decrees. In this time, Some 8,000 migrants were arrested, more than 4,745 of which were expelled.
Donald Trump made the fight against illegal immigration the workhorse of his second mandate in the White House.
But illegal immigration is not a new problem in the United States. Barack Obama expelled nearly 3 million migrants, George W. Bush 2 million, while Donald Trump returned 1.19 million during his first mandate.
The number of people illegally living in the United States is 11 million according to the American Community Surveyon a population estimated at 340 million.
Chaos on the border between the United States and Mexico
In addition to expelled people, chaos reigns on the southern border of the United States, where Mexico has deployed 10,000 soldiers. The United States has also sent its army.
The wall has been reinforced by new barbed wire, and Thousands of migrants who hoped to enter the country are now in a situation of legal vacuum, without apparent solution.
“They don’t know what to do. Many people are in uncertainty because they have no immigration documents, no money, no work, and they don’t know the city”says Gladys Cañas, president of the Asociación Ayúdanos in Triunfar, who provides humanitarian aid to migrants on the border between Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the United States.
However, even in the face of despair, Thousands of people crowd on the other side of the wall with the dream of accessing the United States. “Do not risk your lives”however asks Gladys to a group which plans to cross the Rio Bravo river which separates the two countries, where at least 1,107 migrants have been drowned since 2017.
“They don’t really have a plan B”
In a tired voice and shiny eyes, an anonymous young immigrant assures us on the border he wants “Fighting as long as possible, until another door or another window opens, and work here”.
He is not the only one to refuse to abandon his idea of entering the country: “I would like to work here, live here, buy a house to live here”said another.
But their optimistic dreams contrast with hard scenes of disillusionment.
Gladys Cañas tells: “Every day, we hear cries of despair, people who cry. The situation in which they are on the border of Matamoros, in the state of Tamaulipas, is a situation of tears. They don’t really have a plan B “.
“We bring them food, water, toiletries, covers and everything that can help them live in dignity on the two international bridges”she continues.
The story of Gladys Cañas is only an example of the many cases of solidarity that occur on both sides of the border. Many NGOs and associations today help migrants who, in all likelihood, will not have a good future on the other side of the border in the years to come.
Additional sources • Adaptation: Vincent Reynier
