‘When Trump was president this was not possible’: Migrants tell of dramatic journeys to reach US as thousands arrive at border


Andrew Buncombe
03/27/2021




One man from El Salvador demonstrates how he crossed the river in a boat, furiously paddling for the other side and the chance of a better life.

A family from Honduras say they waded across in the afternoon, pushing on even as the water reached their waists. A mother-of-three from Guatemala tells how she had paid $12,000 to a coyote – or people smuggler – to bring her and her daughters on a journey that lasted 23 days, walking, by bus, by “everything”.

They are exhausted, but elated, as they wait in a handful of makeshift facilities run by charitable groups in the Texas border town of McAllen, for the next stage of their journey, to be sent by plane or bus, to relatives dotted across the United States – Los Angeles, Miami, Indiana.

And many reflect their journeys would not have been undertaken were Donald Trump still president; the election of Joe Biden, and his decision to process some, but not all, asylum claims inside the country, has given them hope.

“When Trump was president this was not possible, says Pearla Fernandez Milian, from Salamá, 100 miles to the northeast of Guatemala City. “Biden is good.”

The point is underscored by Albert Solis, who for the past 12 years has worked as a senior pastoral assistant at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in the Texan city of Mission, one of several places helping migrants.

A month ago they started getting 100 people a night, then it fell to 50, and now it is back up to 150. The church operates as an overflow facility when other charities run out of room. He says the church stepped in to help the people, and says many mentioned Biden’s victory last November being a factor in their decision to set off.

“People got the message,” he says. “One group from Honduras told us last week, they had a celebration party the night Biden was elected.”

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