Roadblock in Reynosa

The bridge that connects the U.S. and Mexico at the Hidalgo Port of Entry ends abruptly at a large, brick structure with a small detention center. This detention center is run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection federal agency and it holds migrants who are pleading to cross. I peered inside the windows of the detention center and saw many expressions of desperation that I have come to know all too well. I sighed and continued my morning walk, next passing locals who were loitering in front of storefronts and sidewalk businesses that attract tourists. As I turned the corner, I saw hundreds of migrant families living in tents and barracks, crowding every walkable inch of the muddy park – except one exceptionally muddy section. I had reached my destination. These moments are incredibly challenging to witness, let alone document. As a woman myself, I feel the pain of the mothers I meet who risk everything to maybe provide a safer future for their children. And because I was an orphan at birth, witnessing the displacement of an uncountable amount of innocent children gut wrenches me on a personal level too.