A few months ago, the first busloads of Central American immigrants were camped out on Mexican soil in Tijuana and were processed legally for asylum to legally live in the U.S. The filthy conditions and how these poor travelers were treated by Tijuana, Mexico, was visually upsetting for me. Tents with holes were set up at the border without porta-potties.
The current situation, unfortunately, has masses of asylum seekers who also traveled about 2,000 miles and are illegally crossing multiple borders because Mexico spits on them now.
Although my heart breaks now to see and read about children being separated from their parents, why doesn’t Mexico show hospitality to these exhausted families? The Catholic Church in Tijuana fed weary Central American parents with children, but now the politics in Mexico are showing elitist true colors in the way they treat their neighbors.
I believe we should rise above the politics – even if it means setting up American-made tents/cots with a place to wash up for prayer in Tijuana for asylum seekers. Why not? This idea is much cheaper and thoughtful in keeping families together than using abandoned Walmarts to house displaced children.
Maybe, just maybe, Mexico will step it up. Come on, USA, step it up, too, as we are better than this.
Sally Florence
Durango
