Barbed wire to prevent migrants from camping in the US

CIUDAD JUÁREZ (EFE).— Migrants stranded on the border of Mexico denounced yesterday that the Texas National Guard (USA) placed a new fence preceded by a barricade of wire with razors that reaches the shore of the Rio Grande to prevent them camping on US soil.

Texas agents installed this week in the area most traveled by migrants on the border of Ciudad Juárez and El Paso the new mesh fence surrounded with barbed wire on both sides and above, so it now covers about 10 kilometers of the length .

The new barrier forces migrants to spend the night on the outskirts of Juárez, where they are at the mercy of organized crime, according to what they told EFE.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I know that God is going to open the way. God is the only one who is going to open the way for us, but no one else,” said Liz, who just arrived from Panama to try to cross.

Tension at the border began to rise last year, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott put up a barbed fence that he refuses to remove despite a ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

On the contrary, migrants like Liz perceive that the barrier grows in a matter of days. “The police gave us water and told us to get to (gate) 36, that they were going to help us there, but it wasn’t close. This fence was not like that,” commented the migrant, who is traveling with her 12-year-old nephew and her 7- and 8-year-old children.

Another migrant from Panama, who withheld his name for fear of reprisals, said he had heard on the news that there was an order for Texas to remove the barbed wire fence, so he was surprised to arrive and see that the Guard elements National were reinforcing said infrastructure.

“In the American area (American) they should put their hand on their hearts and support the immigrant. The immigrant comes to look for a better quality of life from where we came from,” he expressed moved.

Epicenter Location

The border between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso has been the epicenter of the migratory flow since 2023.

Percentage

Last year, Mexico reported an increase of nearly 77% in irregular migration, with more than 782,000 undocumented. Furthermore, the migratory flow coincides in 2024 with the presidential elections in both the United States and Mexico.