MEXICO – While Donald Trump prepares for what seems to be war against the asylum caravan making its way to our U.S.-Mexico border, many Mexican citizens are making sure to make the rigorous trip for these asylum seekers as smooth as possible, according to an article in the Washington Post.
While Donald Trump threatens to shoot any asylum seeker from the caravan who throws rocks at the border, Mexicans are making “tortas” and “sopas” to feed the hundreds and thousands of Central Americans passing through on their way to the uncertainty waiting for them at the border.
“We’re supporting them 100 percent,” Rafael Trinidad, a municipal employee, told the Washington Post as he passed out sandwiches to migrants arriving along the main road. “At least here, they can feel good.”
Currently, U.S. “investment” for the asylum caravan is being put into sending thousands of military soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border to confront the thousands of unarmed asylum seekers. “Investments” are being put into building tent cities where Trump plans to keep those who make it to the border detained before deporting them.
In contrast, according to the Post article, in just one day, the small Mexican town of Pijijiapan spent nearly $8,000 dollars on food to feed the exhausted and hungry people and children in the caravan.
“Mexican people always unite in these types of situations,” Virginia Hernandez a nun told the Post. “Our Honduran brothers are in great need.”
Meanwhile in our southern borders, fueled by the hate and racist rhetoric of our President and his administration, armed civilians are preparing to receive the caravan as well, but unlike Sister Hernandez and the citizens of Pijijiapan, these “militia men” are seeking to keep these refugee and asylum seekers out at all costs.
However, not all people on this side of the border are looking to raise their guns to keep these Central Americans out. Under Trump’s America many New Mexicans and Texans continue to stand in solidarity with these brave people who embarked on an exodus filled with uncertainty and the perils that come with such a journey.
“It is their [volunteers] commitment that I truly believe personifies, exemplifies what it really means to be a citizen of the United States,” Ruben Garcia, the founder and executive director of Annunciation House, an El Paso nonprofit that has cared for migrants for 40 years told the Washington Post.
This is the example that we as a nation founded on the hard work of immigrants should follow. It is just human to help those who are in dire need.
Our current administration prides itself on a religious platform, and yet is treating these people as if they are not human, turning away to the perils and hardships of their current situation.
As asylum seekers from the caravan begin to arrive, let’s remember our New Mexican values that are welcoming of all who are in need. It is the New Mexican way.