Over 10,000 migrants have gathered under the bridge at the US-Mexico border that connects Del Rio in Texan to Mexico’s Ciudad Acuna. A temporary camp has been set up there and has been growing in numbers in the past few days. Most of the migrants are from Haiti and are sleeping in squalor conditions after crossing the Rio Grande. This humanitarian crisis comes as the US has faced a surge of migrants in the past few years.
The number of migrants detained at the US border exceeded 200,000 in July for the first time in 21 years. The migrants at the temporary camp are mostly Hatians with some Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans. The camp has little basic services and migrants are waiting in 99ºF heat to go back to Mexico to get supplies. Many of the Haitians heading north arrived in Brazil and South America after the 2010 earthquake. The 10,500 migrants under the bridge have been given tickets with numbers while they wait to be processed. Border patrol said it would increase staffing in Del Rio to facilitate a humane and safe process. Drinking water, portable toilets and towels have been provided.
Read more: US immigration: Thousands gather under bridge at US-Mexico border in growing crisis
