IT’S ALL ABOUT $$
Migrants: It’s not fear motivating us
The flashpoint of the migrant crisis has become Eagle Pass in Texas — besieged with 10,000 migrants this week alone — most of whom talk about economic opportunities rather than fearing for their lives back home.
A Post reporter watched Thursday morning as Alexander Mendez, 23, of Venezuela and 30 others — including women and children — crossed the Rio Grande Thursday morning.
“I am going to New York,” Mendez said, noting his sister, aunt and cousin were joining him.
He said he already had a cousin in the Empire State and hoped to carve out an improved existence there.
“I want to explore New York, work and get a better life,” he said after making the twomonth journey to the border.
The group crossed the Rio Grande under the crowded Camino Real International Bridge.
‘“Attention, attention,” blared a loudspeaker in a prerecorded message in Spanish. “It is illegal to cross here. This area is secured with wire and there is no entry. Go to the bridge. It is illegal to cross here. Remain in Mexico.”
Officials said more than 4,000 undocumented travelers were apprehended in the Lone Star State’s Del Rio sector in past 24-hours alone.
Most will cite seeking asylum as their reason for crossing illegally into the US, which means they must have a “credible fear” of harm in their homeland.
Border town besieged
The 10,000 who have given themselves up to Border Patrol in Eagle Pass this week are the equivalent of roughly one third of the town’s permanent population, putting a huge strain on its resources.
Beleaguered border agents worked in vain to stem the human tsunami, hustling to repair holes in razor wire while migrants calmly scaled the barrier around them.
The Post observed migrants covering the barbed fencing with rugs and sweatshirts to avoid lacerations while climbing over.
Johan Rodriguez, 20, told The Post via an interpreter that he arrived in Piedras Negras in Mexico at the Texas border after a grueling threemonth trek by foot and bicycle that began in Venezuela.
“I traveled through Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and now Mexico,” he said under a baking sun Thursday.
Rodriguez said he came to America solely for economic reasons, and was not in any danger back home.
“There’s no opportunity in Venezuela,” he said. “It’s not dangerous but the economy is bad.”