Immigration officials note a dramatic increase in the number of Africans illegally crossing the US-Mexico border

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Valerie and his son wandered Monday in the city's downtown, after three months of risky trekking between Brazil, Central America and Texas.

Valerie, a Congolese woman, has fled her war-torn country with her family and is now trying to create a new life here.

"We left Congo because there were no resources for us … my son really liked this here. I also liked that here. That's why I came here to discover my life, to improve it, "she said in French.

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Valerie is one of hundreds of African migrants who arrived in San Antonio last week. Municipal leaders said they were not warned and they quickly rushed to greet them and quickly recruited several Francophone volunteers who could be translators.

"The city of San Antonio has welcomed more than 200 people, mostly families and children. The families were released by the US Customs and Border Patrol in the country with documents directing them to Portland, Maine, "said Acting City Deputy Director Colleen Bridger.

The majority of them have stayed at the Travis Park Church, which regularly hosts asylum seekers.

"I'm not necessarily surprised … we react every day to changes at the border, we had to understand that the process did not really upset us," said Pastor Gavin Rogers.

It is not only the Congolese migrants who arrive in alarming numbers. Border patrol agents have reportedly arrested more than 500 people from Africa since May 30th. This group included Angolan, Angolan, Cameroonian, Congolese and Congolese nationals.

The Border Patrol has already seen migrants from Africa, but this is the first time that such an important group is crossing each other.

"This has really been an anomaly for us," said Raul Ortiz, chief patrol officer for the Del Rio area. "I think most of them, you know, obviously fly to different destinations. And then, when they get together in one place, they start developing a plan just south of the Mexican border here. "

For years, people in Congo and neighboring countries fled to escape political instability and violence. According to the UN refugee agency, 4.5 million people in the DRC have been displaced. But the number seems to be increasing and the officials of the border towns have trouble keeping up.

"Some [refugees] It may be months since we traveled to the Mexican border in search of better opportunities than the United States has to offer, the human rights that the United States has to offer, "Bonita Sharma, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas San Antonio's College of Public Policy, the Rivard Report said.

Unlike most Mexicans and Americans of Central America, many African migrants are not from America nor from families who can welcome them once they are released from their detention. And many speak languages ​​that immigration officers do not master.

"Often, people from the African continent do not have a permanent address or sponsor in the United States. It is therefore sufficient to designate an immigration court near the place where they think they can meet and hope that they report it. themselves in, "said Ortiz.

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Over the weekend, the city, working with Catholic charities, worked with asylum seekers to determine their next destination, many of them having arrived without any cities. home or host families.

"If we do not know exactly the best place to send the migrant community like the Congolese. We need to determine what shelters are available in the country, what is the best place to go in their community, "said Rogers.

Concerns have also been expressed that some of the migrants may be carriers of diseases, as there is currently an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

However, Bridger quickly put an end to these rumors, informing local reporters that migrants were undergoing several medical screenings.

"It's a 21-day incubation period, so it's impossible that, if they were exposed to Ebola in the DRC, six months later, they develop symptoms and infect us," he said. said Bridger.

On Monday, the majority of migrants were on buses to cities where they could have friends or family members. The line outside the city's migrant resource center, in the city center, had declined.

But, if there is more, Rogers says they'll be ready.

"We are a church always ready to serve our neighbors – we will continue to do so, whether it is with migrants or the homeless or with a new need that will appear in the future," said Rogers.