Guatemalan mother begs soldier to let her enter into the US

[turbinetree]

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Jose Luis Gonzalez Jose Luis Gonzalez
Updated today
5 images


Ledy Perez fell to her haunches, a clenched hand covering her face as she wept, an arm clutching her small 6-year old son, who glared defiantly at the Mexican National Guard soldier blocking them from crossing into the United States.

The plight of this mother and son who had traveled some 1,500 miles (2,410 km) from their home country of Guatemala to the border city of Ciudad Juarez, only to be stopped mere feet from the United States, was captured by Reuters photographer Jose Luis Gonzalez as twilight approached on Monday.

"The woman begged and pleaded with the National Guard to let them cross ... she wanted to cross to give a better future” to her young son Anthony Diaz, Gonzalez said. The soldier, dressed in desert fatigues, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder, said he was only following orders, according to Gonzalez.

The soldier did not disclose his name.

One of several images Reuters published of the scene, the photo was picked up widely on social media. It has thrown into the spotlight the role Mexico's militarized National Guard police force is playing in containing migration, mostly from Central America.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador created the National Guard to bring down record homicide rates, but almost a third of its members are now assigned to patrolling the border to placate President Donald Trump's demands of stemming the flow of U.S.-bound migrants.

https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/guatemalan-mother-begs-soldier-to-let-her-enter-us

















https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/guatemalan-mother-begs-soldier-to-let-her-enter-us

[secondwind]

1. What a powerful photo. K&R

[dalton99a]

2. They are in the U.S.:

All of a sudden, seizing the opportunity when the battle-ready soldier glanced away, Perez lunged into the shrubs growing on the side of the river bank, pulling her son with her. They quickly ran across to the other side of the river and out of the guardsmen's jurisdiction where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents took them into custody.

In response to a request for information, a spokesman said U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not have the resources needed to track the current whereabouts of Perez and her son based on the details Reuters was able to provide.

Depending on the particulars of the case, the two would typically be processed at a Border Patrol station and then handed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or put into a program that returns some migrants to Mexico to await U.S. court hearings, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named.

[uponit7771]

3. All she has to say is she's seeking asylum and he legally has to let her go through the process but

... Red Don is not caring about the law and not enough is happening to hold him accountable.

[handmade34]

4. excellent photo essay... n/t