Brownsville’s Metro Bus Station Witnesses Influx of Immigrants

Posted: Nov 11, 2016 5:18 PM PST Updated: Nov 11, 2016 5:18 PM PST


BROWNSVILLE - For many in the Rio Grande Valley, the influx of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally continues to be an adjustment.

Brownsville’s bus station is a place where people end one journey and embark on another. Thousands of them arrive as others depart from the bus station each year.

Those that work at the downtown Brownsville bus station said they see the desperation and struggle from people coming to the U.S. every day. Bus line worker Angel Rodriguez said he has seen the influx come and go.

“There was a lot. They used to come in bunches; 30, 40 at a time. Now it’s only a few,” he said.

Rodriguez said many of them come from Cuba, Ecuador and El Salvador. He said he hears stories about why they risk it all to get to the U.S.

“All they want is a better life for themselves and for their kids,” he said.

Jose Antonio Espinoza runs a cellphone business at the bus station. He said 95 percent of his business comes from those who have crossed the border illegally, seek asylum or are on temporary work permits. He said they’ve kept his business booming for four years.

“Better future, better pay and also the cheap labor. It’s better for the U.S.,” he said.

However, Espinoza said he is concerned about the upcoming change of administration and how its immigration policies will trickle down.

“I’m concerned about my work because the immigrants are the ones who made this business grow. So really I’m concerned about my work. I don’t know if I’m going to be without work for a long time. I don’t know,” he said.

Espinoza hopes the new administration’s immigration reform won’t put him and other out of business.

“They go to New York, Florida and Utah. Basically they go for construction and also to work in the fields. So they really have a big impact in the United States,” he said.

Rodriguez said immigrants will continue to come to the U.S. one way or another.

http://www.krgv.com/story/33691248/b...-of-immigrants