PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Undaunted by a dangerous journey over thousands of miles, people fleeing economic hardship and human rights abuses in African countries are coming to the U.S.-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers, surprising Border Patrol agents more accustomed to Spanish-speaking migrants.
Officials in Texas and even Maine are scrambling to absorb the sharp increase in African migrants. They are coming to America after flying across the Atlantic Ocean to South America and then embarking on an often harrowing overland journey.
In one recent week, agents in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector stopped more than 500 African migrants found walking in separate groups along the arid land after splashing across the Rio Grande, children in tow.
Record number of African migrants coming to Mexican border
African Migrants Del Rio Sec by U.S. Customs and Border Protection is licensed under Flickr U.S. Government Work
Source:
Associated Press
African Migrants Del Rio Sec by U.S. Customs and Border Protection is licensed under Flickr U.S. Government Work