1 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: From Futro Media and PRX. It's Latino USA. I'm Maria 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:20,479 Speaker 1: Josa today our award winning series The Moving Border. In 3 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: episodes one and two of The Moving Border, we took 4 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: you to Hoes and Dapachula. Today in episode three, The Caravan, 5 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 1: It's like one of my favorite places. I don't know 6 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: why I love this blasts so much. It's just because, 7 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: I mean, it's like Mexico and New York all in one. 8 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 2: Just you know, blasts Us are so special. 9 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 1: They're one of my favorite places in Mexico. Blasts Us 10 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: are the heart of any town. There are a place 11 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: for people to congregate, to chat, to shop, to catch 12 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: up with friends, to go on a date. You might 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: hear live music, lots of babies crying. You're hearing all 14 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: kinds of sounds of life in many towns along the 15 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: US Mexico border. Also on the Path North, Blasas have 16 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: now become a different kind of place, a safe space 17 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: for migrants and asylum seekers to congregate. So when I 18 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: arrive in a new city, I'm always stopping by the 19 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: Blasa first, which is what I'm doing right now. I'm 20 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: in Tapachula, which is a city in the southern state 21 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: of Chapas, Mexico. It's right across the border from Guatemala. 22 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: The last time I was in this very same blasa, 23 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: I was at the start of twenty twenty, right before 24 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: the COVID pandemic changed everything Now. 25 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 2: The restaurant. 26 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: When we came last time, this place right here on 27 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: my left Reginas, was packed with African people, most and 28 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: they were watching a soccer match. It was a Sunday. 29 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: Today the plaza is completely cordoned off with metal wires everywhere. 30 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: Our Mexican colleague, Beinghamin Alfadro, says, the city claims the 31 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: plaza was closed due to COVID, but it doesn't really 32 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: make sense. But everywhere around the plaza everything is open. 33 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: So it's like, oh, you're closing off the plaza because 34 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: this is where actually a lot of patient people come 35 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: to hang out, to make connections, to see what's happening, 36 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: to make plans to get in touch with family. It 37 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: feels pointed, almost like the city has decided to hide 38 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: the problem rather than fix it, because there is a problem. 39 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: What surprised me in twenty twenty was the sheer number 40 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: of asylum seekers and migrants who were stranded here in Dapachula, 41 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: nearly two thousand miles away from their destination at the 42 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: US border to the north. And soon we learned that 43 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: was because Mexico was borrowing US immigration tactics, making it 44 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:17,119 Speaker 1: nearly impossible to continue north undetected by Mexican immigration agents 45 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: who were now rounding them up and deporting them, something 46 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: that Mexico didn't used to do. So people are now 47 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: forced to stay here, and they have to wait, and 48 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: many of them did just that, wait right here at 49 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: this blaca. Now, if you stand here and look at 50 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: the empty blasa, you might think that things have gotten better, 51 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: that people have been able to move, that they've been 52 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: able to continue their journey north, that maybe that's the 53 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: reason why the plasa has been cleared up. But the 54 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: reality is that there are more Haitian migrants arriving in 55 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: Dapachula now than there were two years ago. That's according 56 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: to GOMAD, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistants, the organization 57 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: tasked with processing asylum petitions in Mexico. Actually, since twenty nineteen, 58 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: the number of asylum petitions filed with GOMAD has doubled. 59 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: Here last year, the majority of requests were filed by 60 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: Haitian nationals, who became the number one petitioners for the 61 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: first time ever in Mexican history. For years, the majority 62 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: of those applicants had come from Honduras, and between January 63 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: and November of last year, more than ninety thousand people 64 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: entered asylum petitions here in Chiapas, nearly half of them 65 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: were Haitian. Because of this, in late September, Gomar opened 66 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: the city's Gafitaledo's soccer stadium as a processing center for 67 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: new arrivals. So we're pulling up to the Estraceleestadio. Okay, 68 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: in the stadium, it's kind of empty. People are leaving 69 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: right now. I see young women gomarcees. Over fifty thousand 70 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: people have shown up here at this stadium in the 71 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: close to two months that it's been open. When we 72 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: drive up, there are no crowds that we've been told 73 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: are gathering here daily. 74 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 2: Look at this. 75 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: Oh hello, Okay, So here we are. Now there's a 76 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: huge tree and there is a long line here. So 77 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 1: what we had to do was just get in the 78 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: car drive around because we thought they were gone. It 79 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: looks like they're gone. No, no, no, no, No, they're here, 80 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 1: and no longer in the noonday sun. They are now 81 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: standing in line, in a long line, waiting under a 82 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: huge tree. 83 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 2: In the shade. And there is an ambulance here. 84 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: You know, as I approached the line and I id 85 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: myself as a journalist, most of the people turned away 86 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: from me. 87 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 2: No, there are a lot of kids right now. 88 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: You can see them, babe in arms, hear them little 89 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: toddlers who are just having to withstand standing, a little 90 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: baby under the tree, playing with a brand. It's amazing 91 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: how kids just kind of in these situations. Eventually, a 92 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: woman waves. She's got long black hair and is wearing 93 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: a thin black tank in her arms. She's carrying a 94 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: small white dog. From behind. A man hugs her. He's 95 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: tall and has a freshly shaved head. The couple doesn't 96 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: want to share their names, but they say that they've 97 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: been in Tapachula just a week and that their journey 98 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: to Mexico has taken them nearly three years. Flying from 99 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: Havana to Mexico City takes just a few hours, but 100 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,119 Speaker 1: Cubans need a visa to enter the country. She says 101 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: that's why she and her husband left their island on 102 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: a boat and made their way to Surinam. There they 103 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: crossed to Guyana, a tiny country at the northern tip 104 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: of South America. But they knew that getting to and 105 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: across the US border was going to take money, so 106 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: instead of continuing north, they hopped on a bus back 107 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: south to Brazil because they had heard that they could 108 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:42,319 Speaker 1: work and make money there. Arentina, then they got on 109 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: more buses, going south again, this time to Paraguay. From Paraguay, 110 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: they went down to Argentina, the southernmost country in the continent, 111 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: and in each place they would take on odd jobs, 112 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: doing anything they could in order to save a little 113 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: bit of money to go back north. In Argentina they 114 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: sold bread in the street. In Peru, they worked at 115 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:24,439 Speaker 1: a dairy farm. In Ecuador, they harvested cacao super. They 116 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: say the work was backbreaking, and because they were undocumented, 117 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: they say they were paid really little. They stayed in 118 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 1: each country for just a few weeks, sometimes a month, 119 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: saved everything they possibly could, and then they moved on slowly. 120 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: In Chine north. When they made it to Colombia, they 121 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:47,840 Speaker 1: had to venture into the dangerous Darien Gap to cross 122 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,319 Speaker 1: into Panama and further north in central America. That is 123 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: an isolated jungle filled with steep mountain ranges and poisonous snakes. 124 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: There did used to be a lot of people in 125 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: and about that inn, but in twenty twenty one, over 126 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand people crossed what many referred to as 127 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:10,559 Speaker 1: Laruta de la muerte. 128 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 2: The root of Death. 129 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:20,199 Speaker 1: That one hundred thousand crossing was a fifteen year record. 130 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: Although no one actually keeps track of those who don't 131 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: make it out alive, the International Organization of Migration reported 132 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: that forty two people died here in twenty twenty one. 133 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 1: Still they say the actual number is probably much higheral Umemo, 134 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: the Cuban couple, tells me that it took them nearly 135 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: a month to get through the jungle into Panama. They 136 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: got lost, they were returned to Colombia, and along the way, 137 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: they say they saw a lot of abuses, many of 138 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: them acted against black migrants who had it worse, treated 139 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: badly by authorities and sometimes locals and often even other migrants, 140 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:11,679 Speaker 1: And because Haitians are black and they don't speak Spanish, 141 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: they are the ones that are bullied. The couple says 142 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 1: they understand why none of the Haitian people would speak 143 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: to us in this line today, because why should they 144 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: trust us? Like the Cuban couple, many of the migrants 145 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: here in Tapachula have been in transit for months, sometimes 146 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: for years, and Tapachula is just another barrier plays with 147 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: bureaucratic backlogs so long they can be expected to spend 148 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: another year or two in Mexico just waiting for transit 149 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: documents in order to continue their journey north towards the 150 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:55,319 Speaker 1: US safely. And that is why caravans are so appealing. 151 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: It's much riskier to travel alone, but a big group 152 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 1: calls attention, so it's harder to be harmed or assaulted 153 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 1: by criminals or by the Mexican police. The week prior 154 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,559 Speaker 1: to our arrival here, about fifteen hundred migrants left from 155 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: Tapachula on their way north. They're now on their way 156 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: to chow Wheet, this which is a small town in 157 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: the state of Wahaka, and they plan to stop and 158 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: rest for the night there before continuing north. So we 159 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: get in our car and decide to meet them there. 160 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: What takes us five hours to drive is what the 161 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: caravan has done walking for two weeks straight. What this 162 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: is an actual border, This Okay, I'm having a moment. 163 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: I'm really having a moment. This is what it used 164 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:07,960 Speaker 1: to look like when you were crossing into the United States. Actually, 165 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: that you would have these little things that you would 166 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: pull up and you'd have to pull your. 167 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 2: Car up, and then you would open your car and 168 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 2: search it on. And that's what they're doing right now, 169 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:25,959 Speaker 2: COmON lost check point. Yeah, exactly. 170 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: It's an absolute imitation of US Border Patrol control track 171 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: sings internally in Mexico. So this is another way in 172 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: which this country has chosen to basically imitate the policies 173 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: created by the United States, and we just witnessed. 174 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 2: It coming up on Latino USA. 175 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: We arrive in Wahaca, Mexico and meet a caravan of 176 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: asylum seekers on their week's long journey north by foot. 177 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: Stay with us, not yes, Hey, we're back. Finally we make. 178 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 2: It to the state of Wahaka. 179 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: So we just made a left turn into Chawetness, which 180 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: is like little tiny town. 181 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 2: There's not much here at all. 182 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: Dirt roads, mostly except for the main one that we're on. 183 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: Within a few minutes, we arrive at the Blaca and 184 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: that's where we see hundreds and hundreds of people in 185 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: this small park, and they are all just resting. 186 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 2: They look exhausted. 187 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:27,200 Speaker 1: The Mexican police are here too, and they're armed to 188 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: the teeth, even though the people here are mostly families. Okay, 189 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, look at this guy with Holy Jesus Christ. 190 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 1: Look at the size of that machine gun. It's about 191 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: as big as me. Okay, so quite militarized. We turn 192 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,360 Speaker 1: a corner into the darkness of the plaza and I 193 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 1: hear a family speaking Creole. Among hundreds of Central American 194 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: asylum seekers in this park, we'd only seen a few 195 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 1: black migrants. I get close and she tells me we 196 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: Delen is her name, Silvia. I'm immediately taken in by 197 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: this family. We're gonna call them lap Familia Felix. Felix 198 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: is their last name, Bidlin. The mom is striking. She's 199 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 1: got a beautiful smile and high cheekbones and very inviting eyes. 200 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: She has her arms around her husband. I'm glad as 201 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: she's speaking, she's gently and lovingly caressing him. 202 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 2: They have four. 203 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: Children, two teenage boys and two girls eleven and ten, 204 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: and they sit next to their mother on a worn 205 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: blanket on the hard concrete of the sidewalk, and they're 206 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: listening to her attentively, smiling and nodding as their parents speak. 207 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 3: To us doubl dominicana istavaciendo de portacion and brazil in 208 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 3: Isme Mando elis exposa an it is west aa entroux 209 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:20,919 Speaker 3: abuska la familia. 210 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: Mom worked as a pharmacy assistant and dad worked in 211 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: a factory. The Dominican Republic doesn't grant citizenship to children 212 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: of undocumented Haitians, even if they are born on their soil, 213 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: so kids like the Felix's girls have to grow up 214 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: without any protections, no documentation. So I'm glad their father 215 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: made the tough decision to emigrate to Brazil. After several years, 216 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: the family was able to reunite there. The family struggled, 217 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,880 Speaker 1: like many other Haitians in South America, worked dried up 218 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 1: during the pandemic. Then by the and became president and 219 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 1: people around them started heading to the United States. They 220 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: hope Biden could potentially revamp the assylum system and protect them, 221 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: so they took their savings and began their journey north. Eventually, 222 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: the Feliks family makes it to Colombia to Akandi, a 223 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: tiny town at the border of Colombia and Panama. There 224 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: they have the option to pay a guide to take 225 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: them through the jungle in the Dadian Gap up until 226 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: the Panamanian border, but this would cost them hundreds of 227 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:38,919 Speaker 1: dollars at the lower end, and they still needed to 228 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: make it through five more countries to even get to Mexico. 229 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:47,199 Speaker 1: So they make the decision to set out to cross 230 00:18:47,200 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: the Dadian jungle without a map on their own. The 231 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: Felix's children tell me they saw dead bodies in the jungle, 232 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:14,639 Speaker 1: people who looked like them, but they had to keep going. Eventually, 233 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: they were detained by Panamanian police and sent back to Colombia, 234 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,399 Speaker 1: so they had to do the unthinkable, start all over 235 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: again and cross back into the Dedian jungle. After that experience, 236 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: they say getting to Mexico was a blessing. They even 237 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: considered staying in Mexico if they could find work, but 238 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: then racism reared its head again. I'm glad, says He 239 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: went to all the schools he could find to sign 240 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: up his girls, but they always heard the same thing, 241 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,760 Speaker 1: the classes were full. Eventually, he decided to call a 242 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: school and he got good news. 243 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 2: They had space. He just needed to come in and 244 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:56,920 Speaker 2: bring some paperwork. 245 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:07,159 Speaker 3: Buondola made man mass medios. 246 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: I'm glad, says when he got to the school and 247 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,920 Speaker 1: they saw him, he was told suddenly that there was 248 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: no longer any space for his girls, and that's when 249 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: his voice begins to crack. He says he couldn't bear 250 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,400 Speaker 1: that his daughters were going to miss out on an education, 251 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: on having a childhood, and so that's when they decided 252 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: to join the. 253 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,920 Speaker 3: Caravans on an NFL man. 254 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: Asking the US for asylum is a big risk for 255 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: families like the Felixes, like the vast majority of Haitians 256 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,200 Speaker 1: making their way to the US. 257 00:20:57,680 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 2: They've not lived in. 258 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: Their own country for years. Being deported to Haiti would 259 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: be the worst case scenario. That's why they joined this caravan. 260 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,160 Speaker 1: I look around at people falling asleep in this park, 261 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 1: in the outdoors, and I'm thinking about how these caravans 262 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: are so often framed as something to be feared in 263 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: US media. For the people here, this is the smartest, 264 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: most secure, most strategic decision that they can make to 265 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: travel in a caravan because it's safe. In the US media, 266 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: they're portrayed like they're forcing their way into the United 267 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: States or trying to intimidate Americans. But in fact, what 268 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: I see is a very different narrative of a caravan. 269 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: This is a caravan of love, safety and security, and 270 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 1: for the people putting every thing on the line in 271 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: this park, there's community. When we return the next morning 272 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: at four o'clock, the park is still quiet, even though 273 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: there are more than a thousand people sleeping here, one 274 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 1: next to another on the sidewalks, in the streets, in 275 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: the grassy patches of the plaza. As we walk around quietly, 276 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: we find the Felix's family. They're all sharing one blanket, 277 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: all six of them huddled together. Then I see the dad, 278 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,880 Speaker 1: I'm glad, get up and start brushing his teeth using 279 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: a water bottle over the sidewalk where he was just sleeping. 280 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,399 Speaker 1: Then they all wake up, come together, bow their heads, 281 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,159 Speaker 1: and then I see them holding hands and praying quietly together. 282 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 1: People are walking, they're coughing, they're going to the bathroom. 283 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 2: They're starting their day, just the way all people do. 284 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,439 Speaker 1: And now the energy shifts again because people have started 285 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 1: to walk and it's still pitch black outside. 286 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 2: So we are at this start of the line. 287 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: Basically, they just said, let's go and suddenly everybody's on 288 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: their feet and moving in less than a minute. People 289 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: are stuck and they're walking out to Our family is 290 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 1: actually very close to the front now at this point, 291 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:51,400 Speaker 1: as the sun is rising, we walk with the Felix's 292 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 1: family for several miles through the town of Chaweitis, and 293 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,959 Speaker 1: then we reach a highway. There are people around us 294 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,879 Speaker 1: and wheel chairs. There are so many elderly people. There 295 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:07,879 Speaker 1: are little kids being pushed in strollers. There are some 296 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: people who are missing limbs and are on crutches. 297 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 2: I mean, this is not like we're walking slowly and 298 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 2: making our way. This is a New York City walk. 299 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 2: We are determined, we're walking fast. 300 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:27,880 Speaker 1: We walk for a little while longer on the highway, 301 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: but then we have to say goodbye to the familiar Felix. 302 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 2: Today. They'll probably walk for another eight to ten hours. 303 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, we watched the caravan walk away and realize we've 304 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: got to go in the opposite direction. They're heading north. 305 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: But everyone we've spoken to has talked about coming from 306 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: much further south. We're talking about coming from Colombia from 307 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: the jungle, and the people we're seeing who are coming 308 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: are changing. This movement of people is increasingly black, whether 309 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: from Africa or from Haiti, and they're making their way 310 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 1: north through the Dadien Gap, the jungle between Colombia and Panama, 311 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: and that's where we're headed to next. Now we're landing 312 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:44,199 Speaker 1: in Boroda on a foggy November afternoon, but our destination 313 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 1: is far from the capital city. 314 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 2: We're traveling to Las Dicas. 315 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,240 Speaker 1: It's a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the 316 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,959 Speaker 1: edge of the dadi Enn on the northern Colombian border, 317 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: which is to say, it's in the middle of the jungle. 318 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: After two plane rides, a four hour car ride, a 319 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: night in a hostel in another town, we finally secure 320 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: tickets for an eight a m boat ride to Akandhi, 321 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 1: the tiny town where the journey to the camp will begin. 322 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 2: So we just got our life preservers. 323 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,399 Speaker 1: So it's boiling hot outside and we've just been giving 324 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 1: black life preserver but we have there's like all these 325 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 1: safety that we're in this boat for close to two hours. 326 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: We're jumping through the waves of the Caribbean Sea. We're 327 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: literally in the middle of nowhere and this is beautiful. 328 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 2: And finally they call it our stop. 329 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:55,920 Speaker 4: I want to see you. 330 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: Unlike the prior stops where the Colombian tour got off 331 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: at ports in their bathing suits and ran off to 332 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: their little hotels, our stop was a little bit different. 333 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,359 Speaker 1: We stopped in the middle of the sea, and then 334 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 1: a small raft pulled up to the side, and then 335 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: the tiny boat was there as we jumped in with 336 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,680 Speaker 1: our bags that were wrapped in black trash bags to 337 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,480 Speaker 1: keep them dry, and then we pulled off and saw 338 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: the coast in the distance. Once we get to a Gandhi, 339 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: we just see a bunch of people kind of hanging around, 340 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: and we hear that migrants arrive here multiple times a 341 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: day at a little hidden port that's just a few 342 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,480 Speaker 1: steps down the way, and for five dollars, a motorcycle 343 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,159 Speaker 1: taxi says that they'll take us there so. 344 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:56,400 Speaker 2: That we can see for ourselves. 345 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 5: And now i'm amie. 346 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: When we get to this hidden port, there's no way 347 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 1: to know if anybody's going to be arriving today. 348 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 2: But then after just a few minutes we see a 349 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 2: small boat. 350 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:20,680 Speaker 1: So there is a small boat arriving with one two, three, four, five, six. 351 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 4: Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, 352 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:29,399 Speaker 4: seventeen eighteen, nineteen twenty twenty one. I think four of 353 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:33,639 Speaker 4: those are kids when is being nursed right now, that 354 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 4: is in. 355 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 2: New York, So messicado. Everyone getting off the boat looks 356 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 2: pretty exhausted. 357 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: This group is suddenly hurried off by another group of 358 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:58,560 Speaker 1: Colombian young men who are yelling instructions in Spanish. And 359 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: I look at them and I realize that they're wearing 360 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: name tags that look kind of official. 361 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 2: The idea says, they're gillas or guides. 362 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: You're wearing laminated look even here a laminated tagre. 363 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,120 Speaker 6: And com can. 364 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:33,719 Speaker 4: A be yes. 365 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 6: He says. 366 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: There are all kinds of workers here, tour guides like 367 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: him who will help guide the migrants to the camp, 368 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: which is about four hours away, and then through the 369 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,640 Speaker 1: day inn until they reach the Panamanian border. There are 370 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,720 Speaker 1: other people who are official bag carriers. There are even 371 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 1: people who specialize in carrying babies and children. When I 372 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 1: ask him he works for, he won't say, but he 373 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 1: does say that they're not employed by the government. Elombre 374 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,239 Speaker 1: the man is their boss, and he's the one who 375 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: makes sure that the people here are. 376 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 2: Saved no naturistico. 377 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: As they get ready to take off to let's take us, 378 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: So do we, and then a massive storm explodes, like 379 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: what became pretty usual in the border towns along the 380 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: US Mexico border. 381 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 2: Now Here in this part of. 382 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: Colombia, on the edge of the jungle, migrants have brought 383 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: a new economy to Akandi. That's because the border that 384 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: US bound migrants need to overcome continues to move further 385 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: and further south. In October twenty twenty, US Secretary of 386 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: State Anthony Blincoln participated in a regional conference in Bogota, 387 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,400 Speaker 1: where high level officials from across South America discussed, among 388 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:24,560 Speaker 1: other things, how migrants heading towards the US are affecting 389 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: their countries and their economies. 390 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 7: The migration challenge that we're facing in our hemisphere is 391 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 7: not one country's problem. It's our shared problem, and it 392 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 7: cannot be solved by any one country. We have to 393 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,400 Speaker 7: solve it together. That's the spirit I think that brings 394 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 7: us together today and I hope informs the work that 395 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 7: we're doing. 396 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: A big focus of Blincoln's speech centered around human rights, 397 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:01,800 Speaker 1: urging Colombia to take care of their new neighbors, Venezuelans 398 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 1: who are fleeing the Maduro dictatorship, And I think about 399 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 1: the hypocrisy of this statement of the US asking Colombia 400 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:15,600 Speaker 1: to help asylum seekers from a bordering country. Well, what 401 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,160 Speaker 1: about Mexicans at the US border are neighbors? What about 402 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: asylum seekers from all over? What about many people who 403 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: are fleeing violence, poverty, dictatorships and are asking for that 404 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:38,959 Speaker 1: recognition in the United States? The moving border is evident 405 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,880 Speaker 1: to me here in this tiny town of Akandi, where 406 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,920 Speaker 1: fishermen have become coyotes or tour guides as they call themselves, 407 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 1: where women have opened makeshift kitchens in their homes. Suddenly, 408 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: the decisions of far away politicians in Washington, DC are 409 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: having a deep effect on their daily lives. 410 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:00,920 Speaker 2: Right here in a Gandhi. 411 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: After hours of waiting in town, the rain finally begins 412 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 1: to subside. Our guides have heard that the group of 413 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,760 Speaker 1: asylum seekers that we had met earlier are attempting to 414 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 1: get to the same camp that we're going to. The 415 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: problem is is that there are several rivers you have 416 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 1: to cross on the way to the camp, and the 417 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: rain and storms can make it very dangerous or impossible 418 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:37,560 Speaker 1: to get across. 419 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 2: But if we are going to catch up with the group. 420 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,160 Speaker 1: Our guides say this is the moment to go, So 421 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:48,000 Speaker 1: each one of us boards a motorcycle and then we 422 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:52,200 Speaker 1: arrived to the very first river, but it's overflowing, so 423 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: we have to pay ten dollars each for a fisherman 424 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 1: to cross us and put our motorcycles two at a 425 00:33:57,920 --> 00:33:59,640 Speaker 1: time on his tiny boat. 426 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 4: So we're in a river that we might. 427 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,400 Speaker 1: Have been able to walk across just a little bit ago, 428 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 1: but because of the rain that was torrential for about 429 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:09,120 Speaker 1: two hours now we've found in this little motor boat 430 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:13,400 Speaker 1: to get across the mirror. The journey is pretty treacherous 431 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:16,960 Speaker 1: and it takes nearly four hours. I'm holding on to 432 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:21,439 Speaker 1: my driver for life, because more often than not we're 433 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: sinking deep into the rivers in our motorcycles that I 434 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 1: never knew were actually water resistant. Our boots are sinking 435 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,239 Speaker 1: me deep into the mud. We have to literally pull 436 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,280 Speaker 1: each other out, pull the motorcycles out, and hold hands 437 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:38,480 Speaker 1: like a chain in order to get across the high 438 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 1: water of the rivers. I'm thinking about La Familia Felix 439 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 1: making this exact same journey on their own with their children, 440 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:54,240 Speaker 1: without guides, without motorcycles, to alleviate the long. 441 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,759 Speaker 2: Long walk and how scary all of this must have 442 00:34:57,840 --> 00:34:58,319 Speaker 2: been for them. 443 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: But finally, as the sun sets and it gets harder 444 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 1: and harder to see what's around us, we arrive in 445 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,400 Speaker 1: Las Decas, which is the camp at the edge of 446 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:13,719 Speaker 1: the Dai Inn where the journey into the jungle and 447 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:18,400 Speaker 1: into Panama starts. Our guides tell them that we were 448 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,719 Speaker 1: given the okay by the man. We're not sure who 449 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:31,000 Speaker 1: that is, to be allowed into this camp. We wander 450 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,600 Speaker 1: around and look at the empty camp for a while. 451 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 1: I'm thinking about the tens of thousands of people who 452 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,800 Speaker 1: have spent at least one night here on their journey. 453 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 2: A few people actually live here. 454 00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:45,920 Speaker 1: Over the past few months, since there was so much 455 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,560 Speaker 1: movement here, they decided to set up shop, and so 456 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,480 Speaker 1: some of them sell food. Another runs a Wi Fi stand. Yes, 457 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,760 Speaker 1: there is Wi Fi in this little piece of the jungle. 458 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:00,960 Speaker 1: The people here tell us that the group we met 459 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: earlier hasn't arrived yet, that many of them are making 460 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: the journey we did on motorcycles, but they're doing it 461 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:22,239 Speaker 1: by foot. We're all exhausted, though, so we decide to 462 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,839 Speaker 1: set up a camp as we wait to see if 463 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 1: the migrants we met at the ports will actually make 464 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:33,560 Speaker 1: it here to the camp tonight. The sun has gone 465 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,560 Speaker 1: down now it's dark outside. We're sitting down to eat 466 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:39,840 Speaker 1: the bowls of rice and sausage that our guides have 467 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:44,440 Speaker 1: cooked on a tiny portable stove. Then in the distance 468 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:48,239 Speaker 1: we see some lights. First they look kind of like fireflies, 469 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,200 Speaker 1: but then eventually we see that there's actually a line, 470 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:54,440 Speaker 1: and it starts to get longer and longer, and the 471 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,920 Speaker 1: lights begin to get bigger. Suddenly someone says, hey, the 472 00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:59,040 Speaker 1: migrants are arriving. 473 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 2: We can see them walking in now. Just you know, 474 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 2: a line of people coming in. 475 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:11,479 Speaker 1: I can't imagine what they feel, but you just see 476 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,080 Speaker 1: tense and you're like, oh my god, I'm going to be. 477 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 2: Able to rest. About a dozen people arrive here. One 478 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,960 Speaker 2: guy has got two from the backpacks and like a. 479 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:24,319 Speaker 6: Sleeping mat. 480 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,399 Speaker 1: This other guy has got a big ass back bag 481 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:28,839 Speaker 1: covered in a plastic bag. 482 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 2: The other guy is again I think got two. 483 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:33,080 Speaker 1: They tell us that the group is going to start 484 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:35,680 Speaker 1: their journey to the That End jungle at about four 485 00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:39,920 Speaker 1: o'clock in the morning, right before sunrise, So we decide 486 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:47,760 Speaker 1: we'll join them by ten o'clock a major rainstorm. Another 487 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 1: one begins to tear through the camp. I'm sleeping in 488 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:54,239 Speaker 1: a makeshift bed under a tarp. I'm the luckiest person here, 489 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 1: But my producer, Julieta, was in a hammock nearby. That's 490 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:03,879 Speaker 1: where the guides are sleep as well. Suddenly she wakes 491 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,520 Speaker 1: up and the tarp roof is now just a few 492 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:12,399 Speaker 1: inches from her head, weighed down by the rain water. 493 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:17,920 Speaker 1: Then all of a sudden there's the sound of wood creaking, 494 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 1: and one of the guides runs in and tells her 495 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 1: to get out of the hammock immediately, and then he 496 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,319 Speaker 1: says she actually could have been suffocated. 497 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:28,360 Speaker 2: She could have drowned. 498 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:33,359 Speaker 1: In that moment, our guides start ripping huge gashes into 499 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:34,000 Speaker 1: the tarps. 500 00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:38,360 Speaker 8: The roof totally caved in, and looking at it, the 501 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,239 Speaker 8: canvas seems up. You know, most people just have very 502 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:47,320 Speaker 8: makeshift haarp tents roofs, And so he's telling me that 503 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,040 Speaker 8: he thinks, you know, most of the folks out there 504 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:52,040 Speaker 8: tonight got soaked. 505 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:58,320 Speaker 1: We were so worried and prepared for the risk of jungles, 506 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:03,160 Speaker 1: snakes and spiders for dehydration, but we didn't consider that 507 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:07,759 Speaker 1: even sleeping here is a vulnerability. Our guide tells my 508 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:11,239 Speaker 1: producer that these are the kinds of dangers that people 509 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:15,320 Speaker 1: face out here. With that thought, we go back to 510 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:20,839 Speaker 1: sleep for a few hours. It's four a m. Now 511 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:25,480 Speaker 1: and we're drinking coffee in plastic cups. Someone on our 512 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:28,840 Speaker 1: crew packed a small bag of condensed milk, and the 513 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,400 Speaker 1: bag is passed around like precious gold to sweeten the 514 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:38,719 Speaker 1: bitter morning coffee. I can see that there's movement in 515 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:42,680 Speaker 1: the camp. People are packing up their tents and they're 516 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:46,719 Speaker 1: getting ready for this big moment to finally go into 517 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:51,040 Speaker 1: the jungle. I offer the bag of sweet milk to 518 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:53,960 Speaker 1: a young man who's sitting on a nearby bench. He 519 00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:57,360 Speaker 1: tells me his name is Houthi. I'm a Nigera and 520 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:03,680 Speaker 1: Nika and yeah nice. Jiaffrans Uti is referring to Biafra, 521 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:08,759 Speaker 1: a state in West Africa that succeeded from Nigeria and 522 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:12,680 Speaker 1: existed from nineteen sixty seven to nineteen seventy. 523 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:15,239 Speaker 6: Well, there's no points you go in the war now, johns. 524 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:20,400 Speaker 1: Jiaffran Udi too has had a long journey. First he 525 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:24,839 Speaker 1: tried his luck in Ghana, then Ethiopia. Eventually he flew 526 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,160 Speaker 1: to Brazil, and then made his way through several other 527 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:32,520 Speaker 1: South American countries, but in each place he says he 528 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,759 Speaker 1: barely made enough to get by, let alone send money 529 00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:40,280 Speaker 1: to his family, and that's when he decided to head north. 530 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:42,400 Speaker 5: He puts me in a boss. 531 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,120 Speaker 3: When I came down to Tukan the nurse day, call him, 532 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:52,520 Speaker 3: not Nko, call him, call h Ni kaint elmon. 533 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:53,520 Speaker 2: And he was Ecuadorian. 534 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:58,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, but Udi has a real sense of humor about 535 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,480 Speaker 1: all of the struggles he's faced. And then he starts laughing, 536 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:04,120 Speaker 1: telling me the hardest part of the journey was sleeping 537 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:07,520 Speaker 1: in the tiny tent last night. Because Udi is well 538 00:41:07,719 --> 00:41:08,839 Speaker 1: over six feet tall. 539 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,600 Speaker 6: You can't stretch your leg India, how to ford it done? 540 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:14,240 Speaker 4: But we strate. 541 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:28,399 Speaker 1: Udi then grabs his small bag and puts on a thick, 542 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,719 Speaker 1: puffy jacket that he's been carrying. Even though it's really 543 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,000 Speaker 1: hot outside. He's ready now to walk into the Dadian 544 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:37,680 Speaker 1: and so we decide to join him and follow along 545 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:45,439 Speaker 1: with his group. We cross several rivers and we try 546 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:47,880 Speaker 1: to keep up with the group, and they are speed 547 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,160 Speaker 1: walking through the jungle. There are almost two dozen people, 548 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:55,040 Speaker 1: most of them are Haitian, though our guides I d 549 00:41:55,200 --> 00:42:01,000 Speaker 1: several others as being from Africa. Finally we get to 550 00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:06,040 Speaker 1: the top of a small clearing and then the yelling begins. 551 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 1: Now the large group seems to have no problem with us, 552 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:19,320 Speaker 1: but there's a couple of guys, and these guys have 553 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:20,359 Speaker 1: now surrounded us. 554 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:22,320 Speaker 2: They're trying to take our equipment. 555 00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:25,719 Speaker 1: We're trying to explain that we've abided by our deal 556 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:29,600 Speaker 1: and that there are no photographs. My producer, Julieta, doesn't 557 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:35,479 Speaker 1: understand what just happened. When I saw Oodi I asked 558 00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:38,480 Speaker 1: him quickly if we could take a selfie. He said yes, 559 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,279 Speaker 1: But when I took out my phone, this small group 560 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:42,600 Speaker 1: of men became very upset. 561 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:45,080 Speaker 2: They thought I was photographing people. 562 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:49,279 Speaker 1: It's at this moment that we realize we need to 563 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:55,680 Speaker 1: let this group continue without us. And suddenly, here in 564 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:59,040 Speaker 1: the middle of the jungle, we feel very aware of 565 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:04,319 Speaker 1: the invasive name nature of our jobs. Usually when we're 566 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:08,279 Speaker 1: on reporting trips like this, we find people who want 567 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:12,680 Speaker 1: to share their story, but here in the jungle it 568 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,880 Speaker 1: feels different. Many of the Haitian migrants that we have 569 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:22,400 Speaker 1: met have had terrible experiences In South America, migration is 570 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:26,320 Speaker 1: easy for no one but as we've learned, it is 571 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:32,960 Speaker 1: particularly challenging if you are black, so we decide to 572 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:38,520 Speaker 1: let them continue their journey without us. It's a disappointing 573 00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:41,880 Speaker 1: end to our journey through that inn, but it really 574 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:45,680 Speaker 1: speaks to the pain and fear and trauma that people 575 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:54,279 Speaker 1: are dealing with as they make this journey. Coming up 576 00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:59,680 Speaker 1: on Latin USA, we finally meet the elusive man orchestrating 577 00:43:59,719 --> 00:44:04,080 Speaker 1: my prince journeys through the Colombian jungle, and then we 578 00:44:04,239 --> 00:44:05,680 Speaker 1: hear some devastating news. 579 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:54,000 Speaker 2: Stay with us, yes, hey, we're back. 580 00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:58,440 Speaker 1: A couple of hours after we return to Las Decas, 581 00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:03,760 Speaker 1: we see a new group of migrants arriving. They're covered 582 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:08,160 Speaker 1: in mud and they look exhausted, like they've been walking 583 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:13,600 Speaker 1: all night long. Suddenly, someone walks up to my producer 584 00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:18,240 Speaker 1: Julieta and takes her to another man who is standing 585 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 1: next to a very large motorcycle. And that man has 586 00:45:22,239 --> 00:45:27,400 Speaker 1: caramel skin, sea moss green eyes. He's attractive. He's wearing 587 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,040 Speaker 1: a bright gold and black kafia and he has a 588 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:35,840 Speaker 1: shiny leather bag strung across his chest. There are several 589 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:39,000 Speaker 1: young men who are standing at a distance. They're just 590 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:43,719 Speaker 1: watching him and that's when Julieta, my producer, realizes who 591 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:48,080 Speaker 1: this guy is and she immediately comes from me. She says, 592 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:52,760 Speaker 1: she's speaking to el Mann, the man, the guy behind 593 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:55,759 Speaker 1: it all, and his name is Freddy. 594 00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:00,200 Speaker 5: Ogada Passo. 595 00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:19,160 Speaker 9: Said come from me, Sonia, you're not going as And then. 596 00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:24,600 Speaker 2: Freddy does not see himself as a coyote. 597 00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:28,640 Speaker 1: He says he's built roads, given people jobs, made those 598 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:32,960 Speaker 1: laminated I D cards and even made this camp. 599 00:46:33,239 --> 00:46:34,000 Speaker 2: Let's take us. 600 00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:53,120 Speaker 5: Too and pasco trial and see you to pass. 601 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:02,200 Speaker 1: Freddy is careful to add that he's just a representative 602 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:06,840 Speaker 1: of the community. But since they took over the migrant 603 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:10,680 Speaker 1: related operations in Akandi over the last five months, he 604 00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:14,279 Speaker 1: says there have been no robberies, no assaults, and that 605 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,720 Speaker 1: they are guaranteeing people can be safe on this journey. 606 00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:21,000 Speaker 1: People we spoke with at the camp seemed to agree, 607 00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:24,680 Speaker 1: saying that since they arrived in Akandi that the guides 608 00:47:24,719 --> 00:47:28,040 Speaker 1: have helped them to get here safely. That is, if 609 00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:34,120 Speaker 1: you have money, because everything has a cost, the motorcycles, 610 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:39,520 Speaker 1: the bag carriers, the guides, even the entrance to the camp, 611 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:47,240 Speaker 1: because migration is a money business, whether it's government officials, police, 612 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:53,959 Speaker 1: or even narcos. People are getting paid the man el Mann. 613 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:58,600 Speaker 1: He says he's doing a service for people guaranteeing their 614 00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:03,560 Speaker 1: safety on this journey that all the international migration organizations 615 00:48:03,840 --> 00:48:08,839 Speaker 1: can't or will not do. That's why, like the people 616 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:12,920 Speaker 1: who joined the caravan, even if it's an illusion of safety, 617 00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:18,520 Speaker 1: people here will seek protection in numbers and move in groups, 618 00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:27,320 Speaker 1: covered in mud, sweaty, and days without a shower. We 619 00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:29,719 Speaker 1: get back on the motorcycles that are going to take 620 00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:33,360 Speaker 1: us back to Wakandi, and then we'll board our boat 621 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:38,160 Speaker 1: and begin our trek back home. I think about how 622 00:48:38,239 --> 00:48:41,040 Speaker 1: much longer the journey is still ahead for all of 623 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:44,960 Speaker 1: the people that we met at last Dicas. When you're here, 624 00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:48,880 Speaker 1: the jungle seems like a nearly impossible, endless barrier, the 625 00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:52,640 Speaker 1: one that everyone is focusing on just to make it 626 00:48:52,800 --> 00:48:57,080 Speaker 1: out alive. By the time they reach this point, people 627 00:48:57,320 --> 00:49:00,520 Speaker 1: are now burnt out, they're broke, they're nearly exhausted. 628 00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:05,840 Speaker 2: The thing is, this is just the beginning of the journey. 629 00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:10,160 Speaker 1: Getting through Mexico to the US border is another barrier, 630 00:49:10,760 --> 00:49:15,400 Speaker 1: one that might be even more unpredictable and more deadly 631 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:26,240 Speaker 1: than the Dadian jungle. In the days after my return, 632 00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:29,279 Speaker 1: I looked for news about the caravan that we had 633 00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:32,200 Speaker 1: traveled with, but it was basically gone from the headlines. 634 00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:36,439 Speaker 1: The new migration patterns that we saw on this trip 635 00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:41,120 Speaker 1: are showing that thousands more people are prepared to make 636 00:49:41,200 --> 00:49:45,040 Speaker 1: this trip from even farther away than before, and they're 637 00:49:45,160 --> 00:49:49,000 Speaker 1: joining the many people who are already in Mexico stuck 638 00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:56,040 Speaker 1: in an immigration process that is hopelessly backlogged. Meanwhile, in 639 00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:59,719 Speaker 1: the US, the Biden administration was responsible for more than 640 00:50:00,080 --> 00:50:04,560 Speaker 1: one million expulsions last year. For context, in twenty nineteen, 641 00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:08,640 Speaker 1: the Trump presidency expelled less than half the number of migrants. 642 00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:17,480 Speaker 1: Not even people who are escaping the most devastating of disasters, corruption, violence, persecution, 643 00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:21,920 Speaker 1: and racism are finding safe haven in the United States 644 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:25,200 Speaker 1: when they come from a country that the US has 645 00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:32,759 Speaker 1: basically othered, people like the Philipes family from Haiti. On 646 00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:36,120 Speaker 1: January twenty sixth, two and a half months after I 647 00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:39,720 Speaker 1: hugged her goodbye on a highway in Wahaka, I finally 648 00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:46,640 Speaker 1: got a message from Withelin asking me to please call her. Well, 649 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:53,000 Speaker 1: don't they ask with the Lin are ivy delin keep us? 650 00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:53,200 Speaker 4: So? 651 00:50:55,360 --> 00:51:21,400 Speaker 10: Johanna's sake, keep us soon. 652 00:51:13,040 --> 00:51:14,400 Speaker 6: And peas. 653 00:51:17,200 --> 00:51:22,319 Speaker 1: Videlin and her entire family is now in Haiti, ten 654 00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:26,360 Speaker 1: years after she escaped the devastation of an earthquake that 655 00:51:26,520 --> 00:51:30,040 Speaker 1: destroyed everything that she had worked for, after birthing her 656 00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:34,320 Speaker 1: two youngest children in the Dominican Republic, after living in 657 00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:39,840 Speaker 1: South America for years, After crossing the Dadian jungle twice, 658 00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:43,560 Speaker 1: she and her family made it to the US, but 659 00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:49,920 Speaker 1: fifteen days later, the Biden administration deported them back to Haiti. 660 00:51:51,920 --> 00:52:10,359 Speaker 6: And Yes, Yes Momento tote yokiro Y, her. 661 00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:19,480 Speaker 10: Newest piona in Trevistad Vistaso. 662 00:52:19,600 --> 00:52:24,240 Speaker 1: Pented, but then the border patrol caught them in the desert. 663 00:52:24,960 --> 00:52:28,279 Speaker 1: They were someplace south of Yuma. She says it was 664 00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:33,280 Speaker 1: New Year's Eve. Her husband asked the border patrol agents 665 00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:37,239 Speaker 1: for an asylum interview very clearly, but she says that 666 00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:41,640 Speaker 1: the CBP officer told them that Haitians had lost the 667 00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:45,920 Speaker 1: right to get any kind of asylum interview after quote 668 00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:49,800 Speaker 1: what they did in del Rio. The agent was referencing 669 00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:53,160 Speaker 1: the incident months prior when a group of Haitian migrants 670 00:52:53,200 --> 00:52:55,759 Speaker 1: tried to cross the border and they were attacked by 671 00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:59,840 Speaker 1: border patrol on horseback using whips. Homeland Security called the 672 00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:03,759 Speaker 1: video extremely troubling, saying the full investigation, which will be 673 00:53:03,800 --> 00:53:08,480 Speaker 1: conducted swiftly, will define the appropriate disciplinary action. But the 674 00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:11,840 Speaker 1: Felix family wasn't even aware that any of that had happened. 675 00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:14,680 Speaker 1: They were deep in the jungle of the Dead Yenne 676 00:53:15,080 --> 00:53:18,240 Speaker 1: when this confrontation took place at the Del Rio Bridge. 677 00:53:19,080 --> 00:53:22,320 Speaker 1: Ridelin says when her family boarded the plane, an immigration 678 00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:25,640 Speaker 1: agent told them they were going to Miami, but when 679 00:53:25,680 --> 00:53:30,319 Speaker 1: the doors opened again, they were in Haiti. That lie, 680 00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:40,360 Speaker 1: that last bit of cruelty crushed her. Because Videlin, like 681 00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:43,520 Speaker 1: the vast majority of the Haitian asylum seekers who have 682 00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:46,600 Speaker 1: been arriving at the US Mexico border over the last 683 00:53:46,719 --> 00:53:51,480 Speaker 1: year and have established a residency in other countries before 684 00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:55,680 Speaker 1: coming to the US, the US says that it doesn't 685 00:53:55,719 --> 00:54:00,759 Speaker 1: consider them eligible for asylum. The problem is that neither 686 00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:06,640 Speaker 1: does Mexico. In twenty twenty one, Mexico only approved less 687 00:54:06,880 --> 00:54:11,640 Speaker 1: than a quarter of asylum applications filed by Haitians, while 688 00:54:11,640 --> 00:54:14,759 Speaker 1: at the same time approving nearly all of those coming 689 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:19,359 Speaker 1: from Venezuelans, and over eighty percent of applications submitted by 690 00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:25,000 Speaker 1: Endurance and Salvadorans. It seems there is no safe harbor, 691 00:54:25,560 --> 00:54:29,120 Speaker 1: no options if you are black, and if you are 692 00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:31,200 Speaker 1: a Haitian asylum seeker. 693 00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:34,480 Speaker 2: Lim So and your misspo Nimes and. 694 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:37,320 Speaker 9: Is peli Rosso. 695 00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:43,160 Speaker 2: And it was Pais Maria Ufiello. 696 00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:46,960 Speaker 1: One of the ways that Fideline and I identify is 697 00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:50,120 Speaker 1: because we are both mothers. She tells me, she's so 698 00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:54,560 Speaker 1: worried about her daughters that she doesn't recognize this place. 699 00:54:54,680 --> 00:54:57,640 Speaker 1: The crime is so terrible, worse than when she left 700 00:54:57,680 --> 00:55:01,320 Speaker 1: a decade ago. She says, I'm worried for my girls 701 00:55:01,520 --> 00:55:06,200 Speaker 1: because this is hell. Haiti is still reeling from when 702 00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:10,440 Speaker 1: President Jovannel Moyce's assassination occurred. Last summer, they were hit 703 00:55:10,520 --> 00:55:13,759 Speaker 1: with back to back seven point two magnitude earthquakes and 704 00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:18,160 Speaker 1: a tropical storm that further devastated the country, and yet 705 00:55:18,239 --> 00:55:21,400 Speaker 1: it seems none of that is enough to trigger protection 706 00:55:21,960 --> 00:55:25,719 Speaker 1: for human beings. While Biden promised to institute a more 707 00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:30,319 Speaker 1: humane policy than his predecessor, harmful Trump era policies now 708 00:55:30,680 --> 00:55:35,919 Speaker 1: remain intact. After promising a review, the Biden administration once 709 00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:40,280 Speaker 1: again renewed Title forty two, which will continue to allow 710 00:55:40,360 --> 00:55:44,160 Speaker 1: the US to turn migrants back at the border, people 711 00:55:44,600 --> 00:55:49,040 Speaker 1: like Videlin and her family. Dozens of health experts have 712 00:55:49,239 --> 00:55:53,040 Speaker 1: spoken out about the hypocrisy of this action. After all, 713 00:55:53,160 --> 00:55:56,279 Speaker 1: migrants are no more likely to bring the coronavirus into 714 00:55:56,320 --> 00:55:59,719 Speaker 1: the United States than the thousands of travelers entering and 715 00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:01,960 Speaker 1: the country for tourism. 716 00:56:02,600 --> 00:56:04,600 Speaker 2: This is not driven by immigrants. 717 00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:08,120 Speaker 1: This is the problem within our country the same way 718 00:56:08,680 --> 00:56:12,719 Speaker 1: it's a problem with other countries throughout the world. But 719 00:56:12,880 --> 00:56:16,000 Speaker 1: on the third year of a worldwide pandemic, the reality 720 00:56:16,120 --> 00:56:25,560 Speaker 1: is that people are already coming, and the backlogs keep 721 00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:30,960 Speaker 1: getting longer and longer. Stuck in Mexico, people are getting 722 00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:35,840 Speaker 1: more desperate. Earlier this month, in an act of protest, 723 00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:41,640 Speaker 1: a dozen migrants stuck in Tapachula sewed their mouths shut 724 00:56:42,239 --> 00:56:46,520 Speaker 1: using needles and plastic thread. They said they hoped to 725 00:56:46,640 --> 00:56:50,600 Speaker 1: call attention to the inhumane conditions they endure as they 726 00:56:50,680 --> 00:56:54,440 Speaker 1: wait endlessly for documents in Mexico that would allow them 727 00:56:54,520 --> 00:57:00,759 Speaker 1: to continue north. As for the Felix's family, while twenty 728 00:57:00,880 --> 00:57:06,120 Speaker 1: twenty two began inside a border patrol vehicle, Videlin, the 729 00:57:06,239 --> 00:57:12,200 Speaker 1: mom hasn't lost hope. Incredibly, she says, parents will do 730 00:57:12,560 --> 00:57:16,600 Speaker 1: whatever traveled to the end of the earth as many 731 00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:20,920 Speaker 1: times as it takes all for the well being of 732 00:57:21,040 --> 00:57:28,720 Speaker 1: their children as Si salvastrong is ands us. 733 00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:36,600 Speaker 7: Als quad kilsa and. 734 00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:58,120 Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Juliata Martinelli and edited by 735 00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:02,240 Speaker 1: Andrea Lopez Crusado, Jamin Alfaro in Mexico and Carlo Dillelon 736 00:58:02,320 --> 00:58:05,720 Speaker 1: in Colombia, our associate producers. The episode was mixed by 737 00:58:05,800 --> 00:58:09,280 Speaker 1: Julia Caruso, J J. Krubin and Via Sha d'amroz. Production 738 00:58:09,400 --> 00:58:13,360 Speaker 1: helped by Alisa Reina and Monica Garcia. Visuals and production 739 00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:19,360 Speaker 1: assistants from Jurema Perees. The movie Border was co produced 740 00:58:19,440 --> 00:58:23,800 Speaker 1: with Futuro Unidad Ino Josa Investigations, which gets support from 741 00:58:23,840 --> 00:58:24,360 Speaker 1: the W. K. 742 00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:27,280 Speaker 2: Kellogg Foundation and Hispanics in Philanthropy. 743 00:58:27,840 --> 00:58:32,880 Speaker 1: The Latino USA team includes Marta Martinez, Mike Sargent, Victoria Stradra, 744 00:58:33,040 --> 00:58:38,280 Speaker 1: Patricia Sulvaran, Gini Montalgo, Alejandra Salasar, Rinaldo, Leanos Junior and 745 00:58:38,480 --> 00:58:42,240 Speaker 1: Julia Rocha, with help from Raoul Perez. Our editorial director 746 00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:46,120 Speaker 1: is Julio Ricardo Barella. Our director of engineering is Stefanie Lebau. 747 00:58:46,360 --> 00:58:49,760 Speaker 1: Our associate engineer is gabriel A. Biez, Our digital editor 748 00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:53,880 Speaker 1: is Luis Luna, our fellows Andrew Vignalis. Our theme music 749 00:58:54,040 --> 00:58:57,280 Speaker 1: was composed by Zane Robinos. I'm your host and executive 750 00:58:57,280 --> 00:58:59,920 Speaker 1: producer Marieojosa. Join us again on our next episode. In 751 00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:02,800 Speaker 1: the meantime, I'll see you on all of our social 752 00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:03,480 Speaker 1: media at g. 753 00:59:05,280 --> 00:59:05,520 Speaker 7: JAO. 754 00:59:07,160 --> 00:59:11,080 Speaker 2: Latino, USA is made possible in part by W. K. 755 00:59:11,400 --> 00:59:15,920 Speaker 2: Kellogg Foundation, a partner with Communities where Children Come First, 756 00:59:16,480 --> 00:59:20,840 Speaker 2: the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Hispanics in Philanthropy