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Apr 13, 2021 - Politics & Policy

In photos: Life along the U.S.-Mexico border

Russell Contreras
Children at the border of the Puerto de Anapra colonia of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, hang on a border fence and look to Sunland Park, N.M.

Children at the border of the Puerto de Anapra colonia of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, hang on a border fence and look to Sunland Park, N.M. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios

Axios traveled to McAllen and El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to see how the communities are responding to an increase of migrants from Central America.

Of note: South and West Texas are among the poorest regions in the nation and rarely are they covered beyond soundbites and press conferences. Axios reporters Stef Kight and Russell Contreras walked the streets of McAllen, El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez to record images that struck them.

Mural at El Paso’s Casa del Refugiado to welcome Central American refugees.
Mural at El Paso’s Casa del Refugiado to welcome Central American refugees. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios
Barbed wire and a flag welcome you back to the U.S. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
People wait in line nearly three hours on the Bridge of the Americas to leave Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to enter El Paso, Texas..
People wait in line nearly three hours on the Bridge of the Americas to leave Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to enter El Paso, Texas. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios
A vaquero passes a Chicano mural in El Paso's Segundo Barrio.
A vaquero passes a Chicano mural in El Paso's Segundo Barrio. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios
Where construction on the border wall and a levee has halted in South Texas due to President Biden's executive order. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
Republican House members and Texas state troopers tour the Rio Grande. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
A mural with the word esperanza, or hope in English, greets Central American refugees at El Paso’s Casa del Refugiado.
A mural with the word esperanza, or hope in English, greets Central American refugees at El Paso’s Casa del Refugiado. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios.
Where migrants staying in one of the Annunciation House shelters in El Paso celebrated Easter. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
A migrant woman and child sit on the ground of a temporary outdoor processing facility under the Anzalduas International Bridge in McAllen, Texas. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
A turf area in the overcrowded temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
A motorist in a late 1970s car drives by a Chicano mural in El Paso's Segundo Barrio.
A motorist drives by a Chicano mural in El Paso's Segundo Barrio. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios.
The border fence along Sunland Park, N.M. with the sun in the background.
The border fence along Sunland Park, N.M. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios.
A young migrant girl carries a baby doll as she walks back to the crowds of migrants waiting at the outdoor processing facility under the Anzalduas International Bridge in McAllen, Texas. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
A Mexican immigrant mother talks about trying to get health care for her four children at Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe in El Paso, Texas.
A Mexican immigrant mother talks about trying to get health care for her four children at Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe in El Paso, Texas. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios
Buses wait to take migrants from the temporary processing center to local charities. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
Where migrants enter a shelter run by Annunciation House after being tested for COVID-19. A full-time volunteer (left) walks with Axios reporter Russell Contreras (right). Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
The wall through a wall. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios
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