By EFE
May 23, 2024, 8:46 PM EDT
The Jesuit Refugee Service in Mexico Juárez chapter launched an alert this Thursday due to the increase in violence with which the Texas National Guard is treating migrants on the Rio Grande (Rio Grande in the US) when they try to cross the Juárez-El Paso border.
Migrants camping on the Rio Grande stated that the violence of the agents is increasingly harsh and that trying to enter “is resigning oneself to receiving a beating” by the National Guard.
Alejandra Corona, coordinator of the Jesuit Refugee Service office in Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez, He pointed out that the United States authorities do not have to violate migrants, which has become a common practice and the most frequent complaint from people on the move who come to ask for support.
“We have testimonies of people who have been attacked by US authorities, mainly from the people we accompany, who tell us that it is the Texas National Guard,” said the activist.
He said that for more than three years there has been a constant flow of migrants in this area, ranging from single men, single women and family groups, where the majority of the children are from early childhood.
He added that all these migrants encounter “a very violent reality.” for someone who comes from countries in risk situations or with a bad economy, and who comes looking for a better future.
“What we have identified in monitoring on the edge (of the Rio Grande) is the presence of armed agents and the use of gas to disperse migrants from the area. We are concerned about the integrity of people and the right to a dignified life for people in mobility,” he added.
He pointed out that The US authorities violate the human rights of migrants by beating them.
“We know that there are rules and that surrendering in this area of the border is considered an irregular entry, we recognize that it is an inefficient or inappropriate way to enter the United States, however, we consider that respect for the human rights of people in Mobility is essential,” he added.
He indicated that as this migration crisis along this border has progressed, The guard’s attacks on migrants have been increasingly harsh.
“The increase in human rights violations against migrants has been exponential in recent years and attacking the integrity or life of a person is highly serious,” said Corona.
Giovanni Flores arrived from Guatemala and went to gate 40 on the border wall between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. While waiting to enter the United States, he has already been attacked several times, with rubber bullets and pepper spray from the other side. side of the border, and even his 5-year-old son was a victim.
“You can cross here, but it is dangerous because the Texas National Guard, who is on the other side, shoots you. Even my son was shot on Wednesday with rubber bullets. They have no mercy with children, with anyone,” he indicated.
He said the treatment they receive from US authorities is completely inhumane. “Yesterday about 15 Venezuelans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans crossed. At night I don’t advise you to cross, because since you don’t look at night, they hit you. Last night they took out about 35, they beat them, they took off their clothes and they shot them with rubber bullets, and they pressured them to confess where the hole (the pass) is and there they kicked them out,” Giovani Flores said.
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