Nearly 200 families gathered Saturday along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in brief but poignant reunions with loved ones they hadn’t seen for years because they live across the border.
Tears flowed and people hugged each other as Mexican families were allowed to meet for a few minutes at the border with relatives who migrated to the United States. Adults and children crossed the Rio Grande to meet their loved ones.
This year, the annual event organized by an immigrant rights group took place three days before the presidential election in the United States, whose months-long campaigns have focused sharply on immigration and border security. The meeting also took place with heightened security measures, according to the Migrant Rights Defense Network.
“There was no barbed wire, there weren’t as many soldiers deployed in our community,” said Fernando Garcia, director of the organization, highlighting the changes in border security seen since the meetings began last decade. “The barbed wire had to be opened so that families could carry out this event.”
Garcia said she expects migration to the United States to continue regardless of who wins Tuesday’s election. She added that family reunions will also continue.
“The deportation policy, the border policy, the immigration policy, is separating families in an extraordinary way and it is impacting them deeply,” she told reporters before the event.
Source: proceso
