Migrants from across the hemisphere are increasingly crossing the border in a remote corner of South Texas. The shift has big implications for border towns like Eagle Pass — and the entire country.
Venezuelan migrants Kimberly González and Denny Velasco and their children wait for a bus at Mission: Border Hope in Eagle Pass, Texas.
He took out a dry change of clothes, a small bag with his documents, some throat lozenges, and — most importantly — his smartphone. Albornoz crossed the river in what has become one of the busiest corridors on the southern border. Many of the migrants who later wind up on buses or planes to the north pass first through this remote stretch of the Rio Grande.
When migrants are released from U.S. custody in Eagle Pass, they're dropped off by bus at a former warehouse on the outskirts of town. A non-profit called Mission: Border Hope has transformed the building into a bustling way station for migrants. She says the group moved into this space in April, after their contacts at the Border Patrol urged them to.
Migrants including Denny Velasco and his family, wait at Mission: Border Hope in Eagle Pass, Texas, to board the buses to continue their journey in the United States. NPR spoke with dozens of residents in downtown Eagle Pass, and many expressed sympathy for the migrants. Migrants who seek asylum can apply for work permits after six months. They cannot work legally until those permits are issued, though many do find employment more quickly.
"It looks like they're changing here," Valderrama said, pointing at large piles of discarded clothes, water bottles, shoes, backpacks, garbage bags and more. Valderrama spent 24 years with the Border Patrol, and he does not like what he's seeing at the border today. He thinks the Biden administration is sending the wrong message by releasing so many migrants into the interior, which Valderrama argues is encouraging more people to cross illegally.
José Albornoz encounters Luis Valderrama on the banks of the Rio Grande. A sign on Valderrama's property guides migrants to turn themselves. It's just then that the interview with Valderrama was interrupted by José Albornoz.
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