CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) 鈥 Nearly 200 families gathered Saturday along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border for heartfelt but brief reunions with loved ones they had not seen for years because they live in opposite countries.
Tears flowed and people embraced as Mexican families were allowed to reunite for a few minutes at the border with relatives who migrated to the U.S. Adults and children passed over the Rio Grande to meet with their loved ones.
This year, the annual event organized by an immigrant rights advocacy group happened three days before the U.S. presidential election, whose monthslong campaigns have focused heavily on immigration and border security. It also took place under increased security, according to the Network in Defense of the Rights of Migrants.
鈥淲e did not have barbed wire, we did not have so many soldiers deployed in our community,鈥 said Fernando Garc铆a, the organization鈥檚 director, highlighting the border security changes that the border has seen since the reunions began last decade. 鈥淭he barbed wire had to be opened so that the families could have this event.鈥
Garc铆a said he expects migration into the U.S. to continue regardless of who wins Tuesday鈥檚 election. Family reunions, he said, will continue, too.
鈥淒eportation policy, border policy, immigration policy, is separating families in an extraordinary way and is deeply impacting these families,鈥 he told reporters ahead of the event.
