Story and photos by Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad
CIUDAD JUAREZ – A labyrinth of white tents with rows of portable toilets around them stand out in the landscape of the area known as El Punto in Parque Chamizal just a stone’s throw away from the Rio Grande separating Mexico and the United States.
The temporary camp, set up by the government of Mexico in coordination with the state of Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez municipal authorities, is meant to process and shelter Mexican migrants deported by the United States under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The center began operations Feb. 20, but didn’t receive any migrants that day.
The shelter, which the authorities call the Migrant Care Center, includes 11 tents of different sizes set up as bedrooms, a dining room, a warehouse and areas for different services. It also includes 120 toilets and 102 portable showers.
The center has the capacity to receive up to 2,500 people, said Mayra Chávez Jiménez of Welfare Programs in Chihuahua, the agency in charge of the camp’s operation.
The tents, which were set up about three weeks ago, were damaged by high winds in the region and had to be reinforced to ensure that they are safe and weather resistant.
The camp has water, electricity, telephone and internet services, and will be operated by more than 100 public servants, who will be in charge of registration, medical care and provision of services. All signage is in Spanish and English.
Mexico’s military and national guards, in coordination with state and municipal authorities, are tasked with security.
Authorities did not disclose the cost of the installation and operation of the center, nor did they disclose how long it will remain in service.
Zaira Carrasco, head of the Representative Office of the National Migration Institute in Chihuahua, said more than 2,370 migrants have been deported from the U.S. through this border area since Jan. 20 when Trump took office. Of those, some 70% are Mexican, while the rest come from other countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, El Salvador and Haiti.
He explained non-Mexican migrants will be sent to other centers or shelters within the city to be processed before they are transferred to south Mexico by bus or plane.
Here’s a look at the migrant camp in Ciudad Juárez:
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An entrance to a tent in the newly established migrant care center in Ciudad Juárez is emblazoned with signs that welcome migrants with the message, “Countryman, countrywoman, Mexico hugs you.” (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad) -
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A dormitory inside the Migrant Care Center in Ciudad Juárez. The camp has the capacity to hold 2,500 people. (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad) -
Food services personnel wait inside the tent housing the cafeteria that will serve migrants inside the migrant care center in Ciudad Juárez. (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad) -
The dining facility of the migrant care center in Ciudad Juárez. (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad) -
The warehouse area of the migrant care center in Ciudad Juárez stores packages that will be distributed to migrants upon entry into the camp such as blankets, towels and clothing. (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad) -
Portable toilets line the area outside the Migrant Care Center in Ciudad Juárez. (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad) -
The Ciudad Juárez migrant care center is located at Parque Chamizal in an area known as El Punto, an old fairgrounds site where Pope Francis celebrated Mass during his visit to the city in February 2016. (Rocío Gallegos / La Verdad)
The post A look inside nearly vacant deportee migrant camps in Ciudad Juárez appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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