Border protest closes bridge

MATAMOROS: Amid growing tension over deteriorating conditions at the border, hundreds of migrants who had been blocked from entering the United States shut down an international bridge in South Texas on Thursday, disrupting a normally busy connection between the United States and Mexico.

Between 250 and 300 migrants marched overnight to a point midway across the Gateway International Bridge between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas, sitting in the vehicle lanes and blocking traffic in both directions for about 15 hours.

Customs and Border Protection halted traffic across the Gateway bridge and another international crossing nearby about 1.30am, an agency spokesman said, in response to protesters who were not carrying documents for legal entry into the United States.

Traffic resumed before dawn at the second crossing, but the Gateway bridge remained closed in both directions until late afternoon on Thursday, the spokesman said, with all vehicle traffic diverted to other ports of entry.

The episode unfolded amid escalating tension over the Trump administration’s increasingly rigid policies aimed at restricting the entry of migrants into the United States.

The Gateway bridge is adjacent to a teeming encampment where about 1,000 migrants, mainly from Central America, have been living in squalid conditions while they await immigration court hearings in the United States.

In recent interviews, families have described children falling ill, families plagued by thugs and a growing sense of despair as US authorities continue to send people back from the border.

“They are absolutely desperate, with no international presence in the camp to organise anything such as food delivery or medical care,” said Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney who holds regular workshops to help migrants fill out asylum applications and learn about the legal process.

The migrant protest, which included children, occurred as the Trump administration is moving to contain a record-breaking surge in migrant families, with the biggest numbers crossing into South Texas.

Border authorities took nearly 1 million people into custody in the fiscal year that ended Sept 30, the highest number since 2007.

But the new restrictive measures have brought about a sharp decline, with Customs and Border Protection reporting this week that about 52,000 migrants were taken into custody in September, an 18% decrease from August.