Instead of waiting for Border Patrol, migrants begin walking down the border road early Tuesday morning east of Sasabe, Arizona.
Because of the rising temperature and steep hills, groups stop at various points to rest.
A mix of families and single adult men are coming from Mexico, Central America, South America, and Africa.
Luis Manuel is from Ecuador and wants a new start in New York City.
I hope they allow us, and allow me to contribute to the country,” Manuel says. “Let me be here.
Manuel was unaware of the new executive order by President Biden which seeks to limit the amount of migrants who can seek asylum at the border each day.
Migrants are scattered across the desert in Sasabe, AZ this morning. We are in wait and see mode at the border as it’s too soon to know what kind of impact, if any, the new Biden Executive Order could have on the situation here. pic.twitter.com/vNUH7Ma489
— Adam Klepp (@AdamKleppAZ) June 4, 2024
The ACLU already has said they plan to sue the administration over this order.
Border Patrol finally arrives, but they have no vans.
Migrants load themselves into the back of the truck, then its off to the Border Patrol station in Sasabe.
Further down the road, more migrants wait at a makeshift camp near where the border wall ends.
We have been fleeing the mafias that exist there in Guanajuato,” Alfredo Padilla from Mexico said.
Tucson Samaritans work to cool off migrants like Padilla in the summer heat.
The migrants left here are all single adult men, as Border Patrol prioritizes apprehending women and children first.
They wait just a bit longer in the desert to start the asylum process.
“One comes here for the possibilities here in the U.S., more than there are in Mexico,” Padilla says.