Del Rio, Texas. Have you heard of it? If you had not a month ago, there is a good chance that you have now. What changed in this small town of only thirty five thousand? In less than a week, its population grew by more than 50%, overwhelming services such as law enforcement, grocery stores and even local traffic. This was not due to a sudden tourist flow, but from immigrants primarily of Haitian descent, though many of them came from South America.
Picture your city being connected to a sister city by a bridge, that is critical for the two communities to thrive socially and economically. One day you go to cross that bridge for a Doctors appointment and notice thousands of people camping below that bridge. Two days later when you are headed for your follow up appointment with the Doctor, the number of people below the bridge has tripled and the bridge has been shut down for safety precautions. Until you can find out information of what is happening in your quaint, you head to the grocery store for water and bread…but it is all gone! No, not another COVID outbreak. With the growth of those under the bridge and law enforcement agencies from across the state swarming to control the crowd, your little city can not keep up with the demands.
That is exactly what happened in Del Rio. The Mayor of Del Rio, Bruno Lozano. shared his time to show me around the bridge and explain the effects that it was having on his city. It is one thing to see the bridge on TV…being there though and imagining it by your own home, gave it a whole different meaning. The smells and sounds are something you cannot experience through a screen. You would have never guessed you were in the United States of America.
What is commonly heard on the news is that all of these migrants are from Haiti. That is only partially true though. Most of these migrants are originally from Haiti, but have been else where for years. Around the dam where migrants crossed the Rio Grande, there where thousands of ID’s scattered. I witnessed documents from Chile, Mexico and more, but not one from Haiti. There are many aspects to the story, such as in my recap below!
It was such a heart breaking ,yet twisted story. Many media outlets ran with a story that stated Border Patrol on horses were whipping migrants. That was not true. A Border Patrol Agent I spoke with said Border Patrol does not even carry whips. What was pictured were split reigns, not whips. The photographer who took the now infamous pictures even said he saw no contact between the reigns and migrants.
Those in Del Rio will remember the week that their small town was a national story. That “story” impacted many peoples lives. Not just those under the bridge, but those who commute across it every day. America may move its attention from Del Rio to the next breaking story, but the now famous Texas town will remember.