Surviving the southern border

It was more than a year ago when a drug enforcement officer started running with his family away from violence and has been seeking safety ever since. He wanted to do the right thing and follow the law, he said. But a corruptive system in Guatemala - that involved both the police and drug traffickers - was asking him to cover up for illicit drugs. This placed him in danger of going to jail for a crime he did not commit.

The now former officer, who we will call Miguel for his safety, is hiding in Tijuana until he can find a way to cross the border away from danger.

Fearing for his life and primarily for his family’s safety, he started running as far as possible from violent threats. He was uncertain whether the threats were coming from the cartel or the government.

When Miguel finally arrived with his wife and two children at the U.S. border seeking asylum, an immigration officer refused to listen to his case, citing Title 42, and sent them back to Mexico.

“We tried to cross to the United States,” Miguel said. “I wanted to explain my case to an immigration agent and he did not want to listen to me. He told me that we had no right to anything, so we just gave up. They took our fingerprints and they made us return to Mexicali.”

Since March 20, 2020, more than one million migrants have been expelled under Title 42, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. While this statute is legal, the U.S. government dug it out from the 1940s and re-enacted it during COVID for public health purposes. Today, Title 42 is meant to expel individuals to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

In a letter on Sept. 20, 2021, several public health experts expressed their concerns toward the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its endorsement of this procedure.

Immigration advocates also claim that it has been misused at the borders, violating both U.S. asylum laws and human rights by refusing to listen to refugee seekers’ cases.

“It’s become really dangerous in a lot of cases because organized criminal groups and cartels, they basically prey on migrants – there are frequent kidnappings, assaults, extortions.” Hollie Webb, Attorney from Al Otro Lado, said. “Primarily, the U.S. has asylum laws, where people have the right to go to the border and to seek asylum, and it’s illegal to expel people back to where there would be a danger.”

Miguel was working for a drug enforcement institution back in Guatemala. The agency’s main purpose was to follow and investigate drug traffickers. His job was to process containers from ships coming from different countries such as Panama, Ecuador, Colombia and many others. The more containers Miguel and his team checked, the bigger the possibilities were to expose illicit drugs.

Over time, some businessmen started complaining about the backlog and the detailed checks Miguel conducted. But Miguel said he wasn’t backing down and wanted to follow the rules. So he was transferred to a different unit, where he wouldn’t have the same responsibility and he wouldn’t be required to look the other way to let some containers simply pass without being checked.

But not long after Miguel was transferred, a small plane full of cocaine crashed. He said both police and the drug traffickers who were in the crash saw that he wasn’t willing to cover up for the drugs that were found - Miguel wasn’t willing to break the law.

“From there began the threats,” Miguel said. “They started calling me on my phone saying that they were going to kill me, that they were going to kidnap me, that they knew where I lived. "

Initially, Miguel and his family went to Tapachula, Mexico. Six months later, whoever was after him had caught up and began knocking on doors. Miguel is not certain who exactly was looking for him that day, but he did not stay to find out - he immediately fled away with his family fearing for their safety.

“I fear the worst, which is that they can kidnap my family, they can kidnap me,” Miguel said. “But mostly I’m scared for them. I’m very afraid for them.”

But Miguel is just one of the many asylum seekers who tried to cross the border during COVID-19. Sherwin Mongomery is also a migrant waiting at the Tijuana border. He escaped violence alongside his wife and two children. They currently reside at a shelter that helps them survive until they figure out what their next step will be.

Mongomery ran away from one of the most dangerous neighborhoods of Honduras - traveled in a caravan and walked through long deserts. He said he came from nothing so everything he sees he perceives it as abundance. His dream is to get to the U.S., find a job, be safe and create a better life.

“I’m going to be able to live without the fear that somebody’s going to come into my house and abuse my children or my family, or that they’re going to disrespect my life,” Mongomery said. “If I respect everyone’s life and their laws and their statute as a country I know that I will have security.”

Montgomery explained that sometimes people wonder why migrants take the risk and travel in caravans to come here, and he said it’s because they want to survive. He said there was a time when he couldn’t walk and felt that he had no strength to continue living, but the inhospitable places and inhumane experiences of danger kept him going.

Miguel, who is still in danger, said that he fears if he doesn’t cross the border soon,they will find him like they did in Tapachula. He said he will have to give his name to get a job and he doesn’t know where to run, or to hide, because he is in a different country now from his hometown.

Regardless whether asylum seekers are like Mongomery looking for the American dream, or like Miguel running away from violence, they all share the hope to cross to the U.S. for a better and safer life for themselves and their families.

This chance may open up May 23, when Title 42 is expected to come to an end, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For now, a federal judge pushed back and issued a temporary two-week pause for the Biden administration’s plans to end the policy. The judge scheduled a hearing where arguments will be heard on May 13 in Lafayette on whether to block Title 42 from ending 10 days later.

While asylum seekers may get a chance to present their cases to the U.S. borders, there is a long waiting list that has been on hold due to this policy. More than a year’s immigration court backlog is expected to overwhelm the borders if and when Title 42 ends.

“Like me, there are many people who have different dangers, different reasons for which they have emigrated from their countries – and I feel that they are people with the desire to live happily, with the desire to be free, with the desire to feel welcome when they arrive to another country, which gives them security more than anything else,” Miguel said.