demo

8 TIMESeptember 3–10, 2018

F

OR MOST, THE GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL
Bridge functions as it should, allowing people
to get between the U.S. and Mexico. But on a
hot Sunday afternoon, a dozen migrants at the
mouth of the bridge weren’t getting anywhere at all.
They had been told, once again, to wait.
“For three days we have been sleeping on the loor
and they have been telling us the same thing,” one of
them, a man named Mbella, told TIME. “But every day,
someone else goes and we remain here.”
At a press conference the next day, Aug. 20, President
Trump once again touted the border wall he has
promised supporters. “The wall is getting
longer and taller and stronger each and every
day,” he said, even though construction has not
begun. The President’s characterization of the
physical wall was false, but his Administration
has efectively erected an invisible one.
It is built, in part, from situations like the
one at the bridge, which illustrates the problem,
both logistical and theoretical, with this kind
of barrier. The practices that Trump praises for
keeping out criminals also punish those who
are trying to follow the rules.
Case in point: for months, Administration
oicials have said that those who wish to enter
the U.S. to seek asylum should do so at an
oicial port of entry, a place like the Gateway
International Bridge between Matamoros, Mex
and Brownsville, Texas. There, Customs and Bo
Protection (CBP) is equipped to screen visitors
process such claims. When the Administration’
“zero tolerance” border policy prompted outcry
Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen said that families who arrived
through the ports wouldn’t be separated.
But to those who follow instructions, the
process can seem slow at best and arbitrary
at worst. Advocates say the wait exposes
migrants to danger, but CBP says in fact
safety is the reason it is limiting entry into
crowded border facilities. “No one is being
denied the opportunity to make a claim of
credible fear or seek asylum,” a spokesperson
told TIME in an email.
The renewed attention to the southern bord
has raised concerns among advocates about the
barriers some migrants face even when attempt
to cross legally.
“We’re seeing an increase in people showing
at the ports,” says Astrid Dominguez, director o

the ACLU of Texas Border Rights Center, “but we’re not

seeing them get processed in a timely manner.”

AS THE SUN SETover the Rio Grande, Kevin, 17, stood

with his face pressed against the fence where the U.S. and

Mexico meet on the Hildago-Reynosa Bridge, another

nearby port of entry. “They haven’t told me anything

about when they might let me in,” he said. The teen,

clutching a bag that held his only belongings, said he was

leeing violence in Guatemala. After about 15 minutes of

conversation with TIME, he was waved through.

A woman named Dianellis, 29, said she and her

husband had sold everything they had in order to lee

persecution in Cuba. They had been waiting to cross the

Gateway International Bridge for a week.

As for Mbella, 38, he and his wife left behind ive

children in their native Cameroon. He said they led to

the Americas after experiencing a violent clash with

government oicials.

Those who spoke to TIME at the bridges

had varied stories but shared a determination

to cross. Some understood a bit of what could

happen to them next. How long could it take to get

processed? How likely was it they’d be detained?

And if they did ultimately apply for asylum, it

remained to be seen whether their stories would

qualify. The regulations governing such matters

are complicated, and the vast majority who apply

are rejected. But in theory, their fates would be

decided at immigration courts, not at the border.

Some in the Administration have made no

secret of the fact that their goal is not to address

undocumented border crossing but to curtail

immigration, period. Those afected include

asylum seekers. In June, Attorney General Jef

sions said victims of domestic and gang violence

an no longer qualify for asylum, and immigration

udges under Trump have been inding fewer cases

of the “credible fear” that is key for obtaining

asylum. The New YorkTimes reports that the

Administration is considering eliminating asylum

processing at ports of entry altogether. And

Trump has suggested sending people back to

their home countries immediately, “with no

judges or court cases.”

Meanwhile, the Mexican end of the bridges

is in the state of Tamaulipas, which the U.S.

State Department says is as risky for American

travelers as Syria. Most of those crossing the

border are unaccompanied minors and family

units. Many claim to face hardship or violence

t home. Before they can get to the places where

hose claims can be heard, they must make it across a

dge. —With reporting by Ilana Panich-Linsman

TexasTribune and TIME have partnered to track

family-separation crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

story was reported as part of that partnership.

TheBrief Opener

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President Trump, in a

June 24 tweet

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By Maya Rhodan/Matamoros, Mexico

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TRUMP: GETTY IMAGES; GREECE: SOCRATES BALTAGIANNIS—PICTURE-AL

LIANCE/DPA/AP