A year documenting migration on Rio Grande

A year documenting migration on Rio Grande

Advertisement

A short stretch of the meandering Rio Grande - the river that marks the border between the United States and Mexico - has been for a long time a focal point for migrants looking to head north, seeking a better life.

. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
Asylum seeking migrants from Central America line up along the border wall as they wait to surrender to the U.S. border patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico.

In the first half of 2019, it became a scene of chaos and misery as unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers arrived, mostly Central Americans. Families fleeing poverty and gang violence sought to cross at a record rate, overwhelming the border patrol agents on the U.S. side.

As summer gave way to autumn, the numbers declined dramatically. U.S. President Donald Trump, who had campaigned on an anti-immigration platform, passed a series of measures to curb entry and pressured Mexico to make its own border more secure. As a result of the new policies, tens of thousands of migrants have been turned back across the border to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their immigration cases and the U.S. government has more tools to deny asylum seekers outright.

. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
A woman from Central America sits amongst a group of asylum seekers waiting to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants where they can then make an application to claim asylum, after they crossed the Rio Grande river into the United States.

The U.S. border patrol said total apprehensions at the southwest border hit a high of nearly 133,000 in May 2019. By November that decreased to some 34,000.

Reuters photographer Adrees Latif has spent much of the last year in the Rio Grande Valley, documenting the extraordinary scenes.

It begins in early 2019, on a dirt road through a cotton farm in Texas that is known as a migrant trail. The road leads from the Rio Grande to the border wall, about a mile away. In winter, the trail is cold and muddy. Already, families are lining up to be processed - including Gabriella, a 16-year-old mother from Honduras, who has arrived with her baby and younger brother.

By late March, the land is more verdant and trees provide more cover. A raft crosses the Rio Grande, watched by the border patrol on the U.S. shore. Migrants scramble up a steep slope and an agent meets them at the top to detain them.

. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
A family from Guatemala seeking asylum walk northbound through farmland after traveling across the Rio Grande river into the United States.

Family groups are increasingly common. Eduardo carries his 5-year-old nephew on his shoulders. A young girl, walking with her family, looks eager. It has been a long voyage from Guatemala and the border wall now looms large on the horizon.

. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
Amy, 2, a migrant from Honduras seeking asylum, crawls on a muddy dirt road south of the border wall after she and a group of other migrants crossed the Rio Grande river into the United States.

However, the journey is not over. Wait times for processing are increasing as the numbers of migrants rise and it could be months before their status is finalized.

Children, many still in diapers, are vulnerable. Smugglers travel back and forth across the Rio Grande transporting their human cargo and will sometimes hold back a child and threaten to throw them in the water if agents get too close, border agents say.

. Rio Grande City, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
A U.S. border patrol agent looks at cactus spines splintered into a man who was detained alongside a group of others who were suspected of smuggling marijuana into the United States.

Many smugglers are linked to drug trafficking gangs. In April, border agents hear about a group who they believe are bringing in marijuana. They chase them in the dark and catch about 30 men on a river bank studded with spiky cactus plants.

. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
Juan, an eight-year-old unaccompanied minor from Guatemala who was travelling without any guardians, is registered by a border patrol agent in a field, after surrendering to border patrol with a group of other asylum seeking migrants who crossed into the United States.

By May, as the migration wave reaches its peak, massive groups of people are sitting in fields for days, waiting to be processed. Even with the mosquitoes and heat, that is better than the overcrowded holding stations, the agents say. Eight-year-old Juan from Guatemala stands in the dark at a table in a field set up to process minors traveling alone.

As the ramped up Mexican security makes it harder to cross, the numbers of migrants dwindle noticeably. By September, long periods go by with few asylum seekers, punctuated by groups of hundreds that come through in one go when a gap opens up.

. La Joya, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif
Border patrol agents surround what they said was about 140 pounds of marijuana which was abandoned by smugglers. The bundles of marijuana were estimated to be valued at $112,000.

Now, once again, agents find they are dealing more with the traditional crossers known as "runners" - economic migrants, mostly young men, looking to enter illegally into the United States in order to work.

The other familiar find is drugs. Bundles tied up with string and abandoned in the wintry November woods after smugglers heard security vehicles approaching are an indication of how some things remain constant along the Rio Grande.

1 / 31

Slideshow

Belongings left by migrants lie along the bank of the Rio Grande river.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Belongings left by migrants lie along the bank of the Rio Grande river.

Gabriella, 16, who is from Honduras, embraces her 10-month-old son David as she waits to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants where they can then make an application to claim asylum, after they crossed through the Rio Grande river into the United States.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Gabriella, 16, who is from Honduras, embraces her 10-month-old son David as she waits to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants where they can then make an application to claim asylum, after they crossed through the Rio Grande river into the United States.

A woman from Honduras, who crossed through the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft, dries her feet.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A woman from Honduras, who crossed through the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft, dries her feet.

Asylum seeking migrants from Central America line up along the border wall while they wait to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Asylum seeking migrants from Central America line up along the border wall while they wait to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants.

Goldie, a patrol dog that belonged to the late U.S. border patrol agent Javier Vega Jr, watches from the sidelines as the Sarita checkpoint is renamed "The Javier Vega Jr. Border Patrol Checkpoint" during a ceremony to honour Vega in Sarita. Agents on the scene said that Vega, a father of three, was killed in August 2014 by two armed and undocumented immigrants during a robbery while he was on a family fishing trip in Raymondville, Texas.
. Sarita, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Goldie, a patrol dog that belonged to the late U.S. border patrol agent Javier Vega Jr, watches from the sidelines as the Sarita checkpoint is renamed "The Javier Vega Jr. Border Patrol Checkpoint" during a ceremony to honour Vega in Sarita. Agents on the scene said that Vega, a father of three, was killed in August 2014 by two armed and undocumented immigrants during a robbery while he was on a family fishing trip in Raymondville, Texas.

Migrants travel across the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico on a raft.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Migrants travel across the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico on a raft.

A U.S. border patrol agent approaches asylum seeking migrants as they walk along a trail after travelling across the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A U.S. border patrol agent approaches asylum seeking migrants as they walk along a trail after travelling across the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico.

Asylum seeking migrants from Central America walk northbound towards the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Asylum seeking migrants from Central America walk northbound towards the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico.

Turi Paz who is from Honduras, warms herself up with a thermal blanket as she waits with other asylum seekers to be transported to a holding facility for migrants where they can then make an application to claim asylum, after they crossed the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Turi Paz who is from Honduras, warms herself up with a thermal blanket as she waits with other asylum seekers to be transported to a holding facility for migrants where they can then make an application to claim asylum, after they crossed the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Air and Marine Operations (AMO) patrol the Rio Grande river near Penitas.
. Penitas, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Air and Marine Operations (AMO) patrol the Rio Grande river near Penitas.

A man directs his mobile phone towards a U.S. border patrol agent after traveling with a group of migrants across the Rio Grande river from Mexico into the United States, in Roma.
. Roma, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A man directs his mobile phone towards a U.S. border patrol agent after traveling with a group of migrants across the Rio Grande river from Mexico into the United States, in Roma.

A U.S. border patrol agent holding a flashlight helps a boy who is a migrant climb up the banks of the Rio Grande river after a group of migrants crossed the river from Mexico into the United States, in Roma.
. Roma, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A U.S. border patrol agent holding a flashlight helps a boy who is a migrant climb up the banks of the Rio Grande river after a group of migrants crossed the river from Mexico into the United States, in Roma.

Transito Perez, who is from Guatemala, holds his two-year-old son Hesler Bladimir, as he is questioned by a U.S. border patrol agent after they crossed through the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico on a raft with a group of other migrants.
. Roma, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Transito Perez, who is from Guatemala, holds his two-year-old son Hesler Bladimir, as he is questioned by a U.S. border patrol agent after they crossed through the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico on a raft with a group of other migrants.

A man who was apprehended alongside a group of others who were suspected of smuggling marijuana from Mexico into the U.S., has flashlights pointed towards him by border patrol agents, as he climbs out of a tree surrounded by cacti in Rio Grande City.
. Rio Grande City, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A man who was apprehended alongside a group of others who were suspected of smuggling marijuana from Mexico into the U.S., has flashlights pointed towards him by border patrol agents, as he climbs out of a tree surrounded by cacti in Rio Grande City.

A border patrol agent holds down a man who attempted to escape after he was apprehended alongside a group of others suspected of smuggling marijuana from Mexico into the U.S., in Rio Grande City.
. Rio Grande City, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A border patrol agent holds down a man who attempted to escape after he was apprehended alongside a group of others suspected of smuggling marijuana from Mexico into the U.S., in Rio Grande City.

Maria Jose Manuel holds her five-month-old son Jaden Jose, both of whom are from Guatemala, after they crossed through the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico on a raft.
. Roma, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Maria Jose Manuel holds her five-month-old son Jaden Jose, both of whom are from Guatemala, after they crossed through the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico on a raft.

A border patrol agent stands in front of two men from El Salvador who were apprehended after crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, in Mission.
. Mission, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A border patrol agent stands in front of two men from El Salvador who were apprehended after crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, in Mission.

Jose Armando Amaya who is from Honduras, holds his two-year-old son Jose Daniel as they wait with other asylum seekers to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants after they crossed the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico, in a field in Los Ebanos.
. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Jose Armando Amaya who is from Honduras, holds his two-year-old son Jose Daniel as they wait with other asylum seekers to be transported to a nearby holding facility for migrants after they crossed the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico, in a field in Los Ebanos.

A migrant from Central America hides in a thick bush before being apprehended by border patrol agents after he crossed into the U.S. from Mexico with a group of men, in La Joya.
. La Joya, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A migrant from Central America hides in a thick bush before being apprehended by border patrol agents after he crossed into the U.S. from Mexico with a group of men, in La Joya.

A migrant from Central America, who border patrol agents suspected was a member of the gang Mara Salvatrucha (commonly known as MS-13), is handcuffed after being apprehended with a group of men who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.
. La Joya, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A migrant from Central America, who border patrol agents suspected was a member of the gang Mara Salvatrucha (commonly known as MS-13), is handcuffed after being apprehended with a group of men who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.

A man on a raft with asylum seeking migrants from Central America looks for a landing area along the Rio Grande river after crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A man on a raft with asylum seeking migrants from Central America looks for a landing area along the Rio Grande river after crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

A group of migrants climb up the banks of the Rio Grande river after crossing into the United States from Mexico on a raft.
. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A group of migrants climb up the banks of the Rio Grande river after crossing into the United States from Mexico on a raft.

A man on a raft with asylum seeking migrants from Central America paddles his way towards the banks as he looks for a landing area.
. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A man on a raft with asylum seeking migrants from Central America paddles his way towards the banks as he looks for a landing area.

Ladi, a migrant from Honduras, climbs up the bank of the Rio Grande river while holding her four-year-old nephew Dedier after they were travelled into the U.S. from Mexico on rafts.
. Los Ebanos, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Ladi, a migrant from Honduras, climbs up the bank of the Rio Grande river while holding her four-year-old nephew Dedier after they were travelled into the U.S. from Mexico on rafts.

Border patrol agents apprehend migrants from Central America who were hiding in thick bush after they crossed into the U.S. from Mexico, in Mission.
. Mission, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Border patrol agents apprehend migrants from Central America who were hiding in thick bush after they crossed into the U.S. from Mexico, in Mission.

A border patrol agent looks for smuggled migrants in a suspected stash house in McAllen. Law enforcement officials were called after people described seeing large groups of people being transported to and from the location.
. Mcallen, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A border patrol agent looks for smuggled migrants in a suspected stash house in McAllen. Law enforcement officials were called after people described seeing large groups of people being transported to and from the location.

Anna, 5, who is from Honduras, sits in the back of a border patrol vehicle after being apprehended along with a group of other migrants from Central America, who were hiding in thick bush after they crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.
. Mission, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Anna, 5, who is from Honduras, sits in the back of a border patrol vehicle after being apprehended along with a group of other migrants from Central America, who were hiding in thick bush after they crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.

Border patrol agents apprehend Karen Garcia and Valentina Vasquez Flores, both of whom are migrants from Honduras, after they were caught crossing the border from Mexico into the United States.
. Roma, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Border patrol agents apprehend Karen Garcia and Valentina Vasquez Flores, both of whom are migrants from Honduras, after they were caught crossing the border from Mexico into the United States.

Border patrol agent Garcia questions a man who he stopped on the road. The man was later free to go.
. Rio Grande City, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Border patrol agent Garcia questions a man who he stopped on the road. The man was later free to go.

Border patrol agent Reyes and canine Boris search for narcotics inside a vehicle. No narcotics were found and the driver was free to go.
. Rio Grande City, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Border patrol agent Reyes and canine Boris search for narcotics inside a vehicle. No narcotics were found and the driver was free to go.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Air and Marine Operations (AMO) patrol the Rio Grande river as employees of Fisher Sand & Gravel Company build a road next to a three-mile private border wall in Mission.
. Mission, United States. Reuters/Adrees Latif

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Air and Marine Operations (AMO) patrol the Rio Grande river as employees of Fisher Sand & Gravel Company build a road next to a three-mile private border wall in Mission.