Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FRONT LINE
This is a modern-day Ellis Island, a place where migrants from around the world arrive seeking the American dream. But unlike 12 million who entered the US through the famous New York gateway, those who reach Brownsville have been told they are not welcome.
President Donald Trump wants to build a £4.4billion wall to keep the refugees out and has viciously attacked the caravans that started in Mexico.
However, a band of volunteers called Team Brownsville cannot watch the suffering and do nothing. They refuse to simply stand by.
Every morning at 6am, the team’s founders Mike Benavides and Spanishspeaking partner Sergio Cordova greet people from the local detention centre to provide them with clothing, food and help with a bus ticket if they need it.
We visited Brownsville on the first day of a 1,900-mile drive along the entire US border with Mexico to meet those most affected on what could be both sides of Trump’s wall. It is the most easterly legal port of entry to the States on the border.
As we walked with Team Brownsville’s Ann Finch, 72, from Austin, Texas, Sage Mckee, 67 from Spokane, Washington, and Pam Hancock, 70, from Denton, Texas, we were waved through by Mexican border patrol.
We saw around 20 refugees waiting to be called by US authorities to begin their application for asylum. “It is shameful what the States has become under Trump,” says Sage. “A country built by immigrants turns their back on them.”
Pam goes further. “Trump is a disgrace,” she storms. “He has no empathy or compassion. You only need to listen to these people’s stories to understand what they have been through.”
Migrants have been surging into