Welcoming migrants

In June, US President Biden issued an executive order that denied most migrant border crossers access to asylum. Because of the executive order and Mexico’s crackdown on non-Mexican migrants beginning earlier this year, the number of people apprehended by the border is predicted to be 21 per cent less than last year. In August, 9936 people were released into the US interior, with “notices to appear” being the smallest number since February 2021. CBP also allowed 49,465 people to enter custody at ports of entry using the CPB One app.

As a result, in the last three months, most migrants waiting in Agua Prieta to request asylum have left. Families with stories of intimidation and persecution by Mexican cartel members have disappeared from Agua Prieta. They have given up hope and possibly returned to the same situation from which they were fleeing.

Now, just about the only migrants passing through Agua Prieta are those who the US Border Patrol has expelled. Those people walk through the Mexican Port of Entry and come by the Centro de Recursos para Migrantes as they return to Mexico. However, whereas in the past, many stopped in for a cup of coffee, information, or first aid, now most have been told by their cartel guides to keep walking. It seems that what the CRM offers for free, the cartel wants to make migrants pay for.

To encourage migrants to stop in, the CRM director, accompanied by a CPT volunteer, has posted a banner on the border wall that people will see just as they enter Mexico. In English, the sign reads:

• Pray that the families who left Agua Prieta and all migrant families will find safety.
• Pray that all migrants will be treated with dignity and respect.
• Give thanks for the faithful service of the staff and volunteers at the Migrant Resource Center.