Los Fresnos: Behind metal fences topped with barbed wire, men play volleyball and basketball at a Texas detention center while they wait to be allowed to stay in the United States.
They are among more than 1,000 men housed at this former naval base in the US town of Los Fresnos, just a few miles from the Mexican border they all crossed illegally.
Tens of thousands of people walk to the Americas each week through informal crossings along the 2,000-mile (3,000-kilometer) border, bringing hopes and dreams from Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Most of them apply themselves and apply for asylum.
Families are usually quickly released on a promise to appear before an immigration judge in the future.
But single men and women end up in centers like this.
Miguel Vergara, director of the local Office of Enforcement and Removal, said the US government has designated the Port Isabel detention center as a place where certain groups of migrants are being held.
“Individuals who pose a risk to national security, a danger to public safety, who have undermined our border control efforts, or (who) have recently crossed into the United States,” he told reporters Monday.
Last week, President Joe Biden, seeking to solve a problem that many see as a liability five months into his presidential contest with Donald Trump, announced an executive order aimed at stemming the flow of people coming into the country.
The regulation will allow the border to be effectively closed to asylum seekers once 2,500 people have been processed in a day.
It also makes it easier to deport people, a key demand on the American right, with Trump and others saying — without evidence — that the country is teeming with criminals.
Port Isabel only holds men. When they arrive at the facility, they are sent to cells with cream-colored walls and thick doors.
Information in 15 languages is posted on the walls of the cells, which hold 10 to 20 people.
The men stay in these cells for a maximum of 12 hours before being classified and assigned a color: blue uniform for first-time migrants, orange for those with some sort of criminal record, and red for those deemed dangerous.
After a medical examination and any necessary treatment, the men are transported according to uniform color to what will become their new home for the duration of their stay at the facility.
In the accommodation facilities, detainees have access to ATMs where they can deposit the money they have or have relatives send them cash that they can use in the facility’s machines.
Outside the center, which shimmers in the heat of the vast Rio Grande Valley, signs prohibit hitchhiking.
Cameras monitor from all angles and generate images on a series of monitors in the air-conditioned control room, where guards can also see almost every corner of the facility.
No one is supposed to stay in such a place for more than 90 days, but administrators admit that can easily slip when cases go up for appeal.
Officials say they understand that incarceration can be frustrating for these men, and they say they do what they can to ease the boredom.
Among the activities offered are music lessons, often led by a volunteer among the migrants.
Other men use their time to learn or improve their English, which they hope to one day use to get a better job in America.
One enterprising group of migrants offers haircuts.
There are movie nights, sometimes with movies in the languages of the detainees.
Detainees are encouraged to participate in outdoor activities, but hours can be shortened by the punishing Texas sun.
Some people paint and create art that represents their hope for a new life—the Liberty Bell mural on the library wall is a testament to one resident’s dreams.
Migrants have access to private cubicles where they can speak to an immigration officer as they apply to stay.
The answer will come in writing; if it is negative, the detainee can appeal to the judge who has a court in the remand prison.
Further appeals are possible all the way to the US Supreme Court.
A definitive “no” results in deportation. Those granted asylum leave within 48 hours.
Anyone who wants to waive the process can apply to return to their home country.
Biden’s announcement last week did nothing to slow the number of people coming here, officials say.
On Monday, the facility had about 170 seats, but Vergara says he expects it to be full again soon.
“The migration … is moving kind of westward, so maybe it’s diminished a little bit, but it’s only a matter of time before the facilities in the west fill up and their detainees start being transported down here,” he said. he said.
