After January lull, large migrant groups cross near Sasabe

SASABE, Ariz. (KGUN) — As politicians in Congress debate major changes to the immigration system, illegal crossings carry on at our Southern border.

Near Sasabe, Ariz., the number of asylum seekers has ebbed and flowed since the start of the new year.

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Humanitarian aid volunteers tell KGUN after a quiet end to January with hardly any migrants arriving in the area, large groups of 100 or more have returned over the last couple of days.
Several men arriving on Monday came from Guatemala.

Two men traveling together say it’s been an ugly, monthlong journey. They claim that in Guatemala there’s no work, the mafia touches everything, and they want to give themselves and their kids a brighter future in the U.S.

Multiple migrants say they went at least four days without food until meeting the Desert Samaritans on Monday. The aid group is one of a few who hand out food and guide migrants to a camp 15 miles east of Sasabe, where they wait to be apprehended by Border Patrol.

“All this way is just to have tranquility,” Saidou Sow, a migrant from the African country of Mauritania, said of his long journey to the U.S.

Sow says he’s escaping discrimination in his country and helping his sick sister make the journey with him. They too went at least four days without eating.

“We’re just drinking the water of river,” he recalled. “Sometimes the river is not clean… There are a lot of people. A lot of children. A lot of women.”

KGUN also saw a large Border Patrol presence in the area Monday.

Several migrants said they were eager to be processed. Many are hoping to connect with family in the U.S., including places like Chicago, Texas and Florida.