US-Mexico border crossing closed after migrants block the bridge

The Gateway International Bridge at the US-Mexico border was shut down by the authorities on October 10 after hundreds of migrants blocked the crossing. The migrants from Central America, seeking asylum in the US, included women and children. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that the bridge “was temporarily halted at about 1:30 a.m. after a group of 250-300 migrants without entry documents” gathered at the bridge’s midpoint.

Migrants brokered a deal with authorities

Migrants said that they didn’t want to block the traffic and only wanted the authorities to talk to them. The US authorities opened the bridge, which connects Matamoros and Brownville, as the migrants left after brokering a deal with the local officials. The US officials allow a limited number of asylum-seekers in a day under a policy called ‘metering’. Matamoros Mayor Mario Alberto López tried to convince the migrants to move away from the crossing. After complaints of dirty conditions in Matamoros, he promised the migrants to set up washing facilities and to send cleaning crews. 

Read: Artists Install Pink Seesaws On US-Mexico Border Wall For Children On Both Sides To Play Together

Inconvenience to asylum-seekers

Carla Moradel, 21-year-old asylum-seeker, said that she has been waiting for two months to get a confirmation from the officials. 

“If they had clearly told me, ‘No,’ I would have gone back to Honduras, but I think there is still a chance,” said Moradel. 

Another migrant from Nicaragua missed his asylum hearing appointment due to the blockade.

“I understand them, I am one of them,” said 53-year-old Orlando Valerio. “But they can’t block things this way,” the Nicaraguan migrant added.

According to the CBP, the migrants who could not cross the border for the hearings would be given new dates. 

Read: Body Of 6- Year Old Indian Near US-Mexico Border Raises Concerns Over Increasing Illegal Immigration

Donald Trump on migrants

In September, US President Donald Trump, who has been tough on asylum-seekers, shared some data on Twitter claiming that the number of undocumented migrants staying in the US is rapidly increasing. 

CBP, on October 8, said that their officials have barred nearly one million migrants at the southern border in the past year.

Read: Body Of A Minor Girl, Believed To Be Of Indian Origin, Found Near US-Mexico Border

Read: US Bars Almost 1 Million Undocumented Migrants At The Border

(With Inputs from agencies)