It was late afternoon when José Albornoz emerged, tired and soaking wet, from the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas...He took out a dry change of clothes, a small bag with his documents, some throat lozenges, and — most importantly — his smartphone. "My trip was organized and planned by Google, practically, not me," Albornoz said in Spanish, laughing. Then he turned on his phone to call his wife back in Venezuela to let her know he'd made it to Texas.
This new wave of migrants is coming largely from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. That's significant because these migrants generally cannot be expelled under the pandemic border restrictions known as Title 42. And immigration authorities are mostly releasing them into the United States, where they can seek asylum. When migrants are released from U.S. custody in Eagle Pass, they're dropped off by bus at a former warehouse on the outskirts of town. A non-profit called Mission: Border Hope has transformed the building into a bustling way station for migrants.
"Our main purpose is to help them continue their journey," said Valeria Wheeler, the group's executive director. There are showers, and a kitchen handing out free sandwiches. There's also a counter where migrants can buy a bus ticket to San Antonio, and catch another bus or a plane to wherever they're going. She says the group moved into this space in April, after their contacts at the Border Patrol urged them to. "Actually this place was built because of the anticipation they had," Wheeler said. "They told us: 'Valeria, you will need a bigger place. There's gonna be a lot more people.' "
NPR link