US
At the US-Mexico border migrants experience the reality of Trump’s first few days in office
For almost a year, Ericka Mendoza has lived in a dormitory room inside a migrant shelter on the Mexico-US border, in the town of Piedras Negras.
She shares the bottom mattress of a bunk bed with her ten-year-old son, Ronal.
There are sometimes 15 other women and children in the same room.
Ericka has spent a year living inside this dormitory in a migrant shelter
They share a dream of a new life in the United States.
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After waiting for so long, Ericka finally had her interview scheduled with US immigration officials for 6 February, just over two weeks away.
“I was so excited,” she says.
But within 13 minutes of Donald Trump becoming president again, Ericka received an email notifying her that the appointment had been cancelled.
Donald Trump had effectively closed the southern border, declaring the situation a “national emergency” and stopping all asylum applications.
“It’s unfair, it’s very unfair,” she says, breaking down in tears and holding her gloved hands to her face.
“In a split second the door was slammed shut on us,” she adds. “I don’t know what to think anymore. All I know is that I’m going to leave, and I’m going to do it the right way, the correct way.”
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Together with her other son, 12-year-old Christian, they fled persecution in Guatemala with the fervent hope of a new life in the United States.
On the way, Christian, she says, almost caught hypothermia, and as they travelled through Mexico, on top of a freight train so dangerous it is known as “the beast,” he almost fell to his death.
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Ericka has been working cleaning machinery at a meat market in Piedras Negras as she waited for her asylum claim to be processed.
Many migrants wind up in this border community on the final leg of their journey to the United States.
From the town centre, Texas – less than half a mile away – is within sight.
The American dream, which felt tantalisingly close, now seems so far away.
“I don’t know what to do,” she says. “I plead that everything can get fixed. I wanted to do this legally and I hope the new president takes that into account, because it wasn’t easy making it all the way here. I hope God touches his heart and makes the impossible possible.”
The concern among some immigration charities is that people could now attempt to enter the United States illegally, taking a perilous route through the Rio Grande River.
The hardline stance of the new regime is already on display on the US side of the border where brush is being cleared to prepare for more razor wire to be laid down.
Behind one section of fence, dozens of buoys are stacked in rows.
Buoys soon to be used to create a barrier across the Rio Grande River
The Rio Grande River, which some fear may see an increase in attempts to enter the US
They will soon create a barrier in the river to thwart would-be immigrants crossing that way.
It’s the eye-catching immigration crackdown President Trump promised. But what will be the net impact?
Well, that’s a watching brief.