Thread by @HistoryTurnedOn

Migrant "Protection" Protocols (MPP) Survivor Stories #1:

1/ Gabriel and family survived the trek north only to be trapped in Mexico by Trump’s cruel America. Will they now get to cross into the US?

Back-story:
link.medium.com/iiMFFEWdaeb

Updates by @Enrevolucion_33 in thread...

2/ UPDATE 25 FEB: "Hi Sarah, I already registered on the UNHCR website. I received a call yesterday, asking me for more information. They said that my application is in process and to wait for another communication. It is the US gov that will decide when we cross." #WeCanWelcome

3/ UPDATE #2: "They say that today the first group of 25 people will pass to the US from Matamoros. In 16 months of waiting, it is the first time that there is positive news. We feel very happy since this marks the beginning of the end."

#WelcomeWithDignity

4/ UPDATE #3: "Early this morning people started crossing. The first 25 were picked from their tents and are now crossing. They were called by name, with family units counted as one. It's a very big stop. Everyone is very happy."

This is how we #WelcomeWithDignity #WeCanWelcome

5/ Sending thanks to all the groups who've worked so tirelessly these long, hard years to #WelcomeWithDignity the refugees from Matamoros: @AngryTiasRGV @GRM_Global @JodiGoodwin17 @lawyers4goodgov @khattamitta @gabyzavalaaa @SidewalkSchool @TXCivilRights @WitnessBorder @ACLU_BRC

6/ "Today, a friend I lived with for many months in the camp, learned he will pass and I am very excited for him. I hope that God allows me and my family to cross soon, too."

#WelcomeWithDignity
#WeCanWelcome
#BienvenidosTodos

7/ "I am a little afraid because I stopped living in the camp about 5 months ago when my wife's pregnancy grew complicated. We moved into an apartment in Matamoros then, with the help of @belindaHarriaga and @Alasdreams. Thanks to them both mother and baby's lives were saved!"

8/ "But we suffered life in the tent city for more than 10 months. Now priority will be given to those in the camp, including some who arrived after me. Those of us now living outside the camp have not been told yet when we'll be crossing."

#WelcomeWithDignity
#WeCanWelcome

9/ UPDATE #5: "The process continues for the people in the Matamoros Refugee camp. 100 people from the camp will pass today. With each person who leaves Matamoros, I feel personal relief. Everyone here suffered a lot. They all had difficult moments...

#WelcomeWithDignity

10/ "...But thank God little by little this nightmare is ending. Sometimes I wish time could go faster. LOL. I can't wait for my chance to be safe. I have never felt safe here, I always walk with fear. But I know the day will come when this ends."

#wecanwelcome
@Enrevolucion_33

11/ UPDATE #6: "Sarah, my son's best friend is leaving today. Wow! This is wonderful. He is the one in blue with a backpack. Sarah, my heart is very grateful, his mother and sister will be so happy!"

@WitnessBorder @BorderRelief @belindaHarriaga

#WelcomeWithDignity

12/ UPDATE #7, Feb 27: "I woke up wanting to cry today. I would like to be able to tell my children and my wife that we already have a date to leave. I know the time is now short but we still don't know when we'll cross. It's the waiting that has been so hard...

#WelcomeHome

"...Waiting is the hardest part. It would be so much easier to wait if we just knew the date, but still no news for those of us living outside the camp."

#WelcomeWithDignity
#WeCanWelcome
#immigrantsareessential

14/ UPDATE #8, Feb 28: " Little by little the tents that once served as a home for the people of the Matamoros refugee encampment begin to disappear. The end of this place is closer. I hope this story will never repeat itself."

15/ UPDATE #9: "Sarah, there in the registration line is the person who picked me up off the INM sidewalk when my family and I were first sent to Mexico. I didn't know the first thing to do and he helped me...

16/ "...he gave me food, got diapers for my child, gave me a tent, and helped me when I was at my lowest low. There are so many heroes like him. I am afraid to fail to mention them...

@ReichlinMelnick supports me a lot. He also wrote me many times encouraging me."

#WeCanWelcome

17/ "...And there are so many journalists who never forgot we were living in these conditions: @ReynaldoLeanos @aflores @ValOnTheBorder @erin_sheridan @SandraESanchez. And all the organizations that supported us with #Dignity @AngryTiasRGV @GRM_Global Team Brownsville and RCM."

18/ UPDATE 10, MAR 1: "We still haven't received the call, telling us the date when we will enter the US. But two families who live in the same building as us have gotten their crossing dates. One has already entered into the process..."

#WelcomeWithDignity
#EndTitle42

19/ "...UPDATE 13, MAR 1: "They received the 1st call to verify the information they entered on the Conecta website just 2 days before I got my first call. This means I could get the second call any time now - today or tomorrow...."

@Enrevolucion_33
@marcela_elisa
@Alasdreams

20/ "... I am very anxious. They are only calling us the day before, so we are already packed and prepared. We would like to go through now!!!"

@Refugees
@UNmigration
@GRM_Global
@RefugeesIntl
@AngryTiasRGV
@CCharitiesRGV
@HopeBorder
@TXCivilRights
@ACLUTx
@RAICESTEXAS

21/ UPDATE, MAR 2: "Hello Sarah, this family in August 2020, due to everything they lived through in the camp, they decided to return to Guatemala, they lost hope. I called them and enrolled him Conecta and today they entered the United States. I am very happy for them!..."

22/ "...Though I hate that I am one of the last, I feel very happy to see these moments of joy that I would have missed if I had already crossed."

#WelcomeWithDignity #WeCanWelcome
#Immigration #immigrantsareessential #ImmigrationMatters
@DrBiden @ALT_uscis @POTUS @DHSgov @VP

23/ "Hola Sarah! They just called me! Tomorrow, March 3, at 8am, we cross into the United States! We are so happy. We are just hours away from bringing to an end this terrible cycle and starting another, better one. And that is very good!"

#WelcomeWithDignity
#WeCanWelcome