As the U.S. continues to deal with , a migrant camp along the southern border in Matamoros, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, is also bracing for what could be a deadly outbreak.
More than 1,500 asylum seekers are forced to live at this tent camp as their asylum claims unfold in U.S. immigration court under the Trump administration's .
Fernando is from Honduras and has lived in the camp for almost a year. Like others here he鈥檒l only speak if we don鈥檛 use his full name.
He holds his 10-month-old baby girl.
鈥淲ant to go to the United States, or back to Honduras?鈥� he playfully asks the baby girl.
Fernando said living here hasn鈥檛 been easy and that it鈥檚 been a life of uncertainty.
Now there鈥檚 been an unexpected twist.
The Coronavirus might reach the camp and he feels they鈥檙e invisible in the eyes of the Mexican government.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not a priority here. We鈥檙e in their way. That鈥檚 how they see us,鈥� Fernando said. 鈥淚magine if we get the virus, we don鈥檛 have security.鈥�
He said COVID-19 has put his family in a tough spot.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking about sending our kids to the U.S.,鈥� Fernando said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be separated from your children, but I feel like they鈥檒l be safer from the virus in the U.S. than here living in tents and these conditions.鈥�
Because his kids are minors, ages 16 years, 9 years and 10 months, Fernando knows that U.S. policy will admit them to the country if they are unaccompanied by an adult, which means they will have to cross alone.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to try this tonight to see if the kids can cross, if not, we鈥檙e going to try to cross them through the river,鈥� Fernando said.
While some families think of a way out of the camps, others do their best to make the tents safe and healthy.
Down the path from Fernando鈥檚 tent is Yamaly, who鈥檚 from Honduras and has three kids.
She鈥檚 lived at the camp for several months.
Yamaly runs a camp store where asylum seekers can buy essentials. She鈥檚 worried about her children and the people around her.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to have anyone lose their life, whether they be adults or kids,鈥� Yamalu said. 鈥淲e hope no one dies because of this virus.鈥�
The camp has begun taking precautionary steps.
There are signs posted with cartoon sketches on how to properly wash hands. Another sign reads 鈥渋nventa un nuevo saludo鈥� 鈥� which means 鈥渋nvent a new greeting.鈥�
People are no longer saying hello with a kiss on the cheek, or a handshake.
But the bigger impact? It comes from U.S. volunteers.
鈥淚f they stop coming, we think it would cause chaos here because we depend a lot on the help from the organizations of the United States,鈥� Yamaly said.
Some of the nonprofits say they will no longer cross into Matamoros, or limit their crossings, due to fear of spreading the virus to the migrants, or contracting it themselves.
One organization that will continue at the camp: , or GRM.
鈥淲e are good at disasters, and try to think of the worst case scenario and plan for that and hope for the best,鈥� said Daniel Taylor, a remote paramedic with GRM.
He said following U.S. safety guidelines is almost impossible in a tented camp.
鈥淭hings like social distancing is very difficult here because the living conditions, some people are in 10 foot by 10 foot tents and there are maybe four or five people in that, so that鈥檚 a little impossible,鈥� Taylor said.
Dan and his team plan to open a field hospital, which is essentially a separate tent, where they鈥檒l treat infected patients from the camp.
They, in collaboration with the , also added additional hand washing stations.
As an added step, they鈥檙e pursuing coronavirus testing kits, which are crucial for containing the virus 鈥� if only they can cut through the red tape.
鈥淥ur organization actually has access to rapid tests that we could have imported into Mexico,鈥� said Helen Perry, executive director of GRM. 鈥淲e need the Mexican government to approve that. So far that has not happened.鈥�
Perry was trained in the Army as an Ebola response nurse.
鈥淲e鈥檙e even offering to give 500 kits to the local hospital for them to be able to test,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淲e desperately need them.鈥�
While the testing kits are tied up by the Mexican government, there are several asylum seekers at the camp with medical vulnerabilities.
Perry said many of the migrants are dealing with hypertension, physical disabilities, malnutrition and life threatening illnesses. She said these high-risk migrants, now more than ever, should be paroled into the U.S. and removed from The Remain in Mexico program (formally also known as Migrant Protection Protocols).
These are some of the signs that have been put up at the migrant camp in Matamoros, MX
One of the sign says 鈥渋nvent a new greeting鈥�
Handwashing stations have also been added throughout the camp 鈥� Reynaldo Lea帽os Jr. (@ReynaldoLeanos)
鈥淭he reality is that people in this camp have families waiting on the other side where they can be in homes and they could be isolated and they could be taking the appropriate precautions to protect themselves,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淗ere, it鈥檚 inevitable, if one case gets into the camp the entire camp will have it.鈥�
Getting out of the camps is potentially life saving and one migrant has decided it鈥檚 the best move for his family.
After a day of agonizing 鈥� Fernando has made up his mind 鈥� his 16 and 9-year-old kids will cross the border alone.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hard,鈥� Fernando said. 鈥淢y heart is going to break into several pieces, but too bad. It鈥檚 very hard.鈥�
At nightfall, he and his wife hug their children tightly. Everyone is in tears.
A girl at the camp says, 鈥淲e will miss you, but you will be happier in the United States.鈥�
The kids walk across the international bridge to turn themselves into U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents 鈥� all in hopes of being safer there, than here at the camp.
Reynaldo Lea帽os Jr. can be reached at Reynaldo@TPR.org and on Twitter at .
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