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DEL RIO, Texas (AP) – When Haitian migrants in the Texas border town of Del Rio got out of a white van of the US border patrol after they learned that they were allowed to stay in the country for the time being, a man in a neon yellow vest stood nearby and examined them calmly.
Some were carrying sleeping babies, and a toddler followed their mother, wrapped in a silver warming blanket. When they stopped by to be processed by a local nonprofit that supplies migrants with essentials and helps them reach their families in the US, many smiled happily after a chaotic stay in a crowded camp near a border embarking on a new leg of their journey bridge that connects Del Rio with Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.
Dave, who refused to reveal his last name because he feared a backlash for helping people who entered the US illegally, did not see his girlfriend Ruth in this group. But he wore the glowing safety vest so she could spot him in the crowd when she arrived with her husband and three-year-old daughter.
“I feel like my friend is worth my time to come down and help,” he told The Associated Press on Friday.
On Tuesday, Dave set off from his hometown of Toledo, Ohio, and made the nearly 2,092-mile drive to Del Rio, where up to 15,000 migrants from Mexico suddenly arrived this month, most of them Haitians and many seeking asylum.
The 64-year-old met Ruth over a decade ago while on a Christian mission in Haiti. Over the years, Dave Ruth sent money to a little girl he met at an orphanage and whom he had promised himself to support. Ruth always made sure the girl had what she needed.
Last month, Ruth and her family left South America, where they lived shortly after leaving their impoverished Caribbean homeland, for the United States. Dave told her he would be there when they got there to drive her to her sister’s house in Ohio.
“I just see it as an opportunity to serve someone,” he said. “We have so much.”
The nonprofit Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition has received dozens of drop-offs from U.S. Border Patrol agents since the sudden influx of migrants to Del Rio became the country’s most pressing immigration challenge. The director, Tiffany Burrow, said the group processed more than 1,600 Haitian migrants Monday through Friday, assisting them with travel and relocation needs.
This is nothing new to Burrow, who has been watching Haitian migrants cross into Del Rio in fewer numbers since January. But this latest wave overwhelmed their small group.
“It’s a different volume. And this time the eyes of the world are on us, ”Burrow told the AP.
As Dave waited for the next bus to arrive on Friday, he pushed a child seat into the back of his vehicle. It was for Ruth’s toddler and was the first thing he discovered when he stopped at a thrift store on his way out of Toledo. He took it as a small sign that he was doing the right thing.
Ruth and her family had spent the last week at the bridge camp and Dave had communicated with her via WhatsApp. But communication was cut off around noon on Thursday and he said Ruth’s sister in Ohio had not heard from her either.
Still, Dave waited and scrolled through a list of “what if”. He wondered aloud if her phone had died or if she was in a border police facility with strict rules on electronic devices. “I trust my cell phone a lot,” he said with a laugh.
Like Dave, Dr. Pierre Moreau from Miami to Del Rio to help. As a Haitian immigrant and a US Navy veteran, he saw the pictures from the camp and booked a flight.
“That was devastating. My heart was crying, ”said Moreau. “And I told my wife that I was coming. And she said go. “
Moreau had no plan – just a rental car full of toiletries and supplies to distribute to any migrants he encountered.
“I am worried about my brothers and sisters. And I was concerned about the way they were being treated, ”he said.
Dave said he hated the politicization of the border issue. He sees himself as a supporter of former President Donald Trump but said it was more complicated than a single label.
While he waited in his car, Dave raved about how hard Ruth had worked as a nurse to get to the United States – a dream she has had for over a decade. He said he knew she would do the same in the United States and that he would only take her and her little family one step further.
“I’ll help you take your first step,” said Dave. “And like a little child, the next time you see them, they will run.”
Whenever a Border Police bus or van stopped in front of the coalition, Dave and his yellow vest would cross the street. He waited while each migrant got out, hoping to see Ruth, and even rushed to a woman who thought it was her. “That sounded just like Ruth’s voice,” he said.
When it was announced on Friday that the camp had been vacated, Dave was still hoping that she would arrive. But 10 hours after he drove up, the coalition announced that they had received their last busload and that no more migrants would be arriving from the camp.
For Del Rio, at least for the time being, this wave was over. But Burrow said there will likely be others.
“Right now we’re in a cycle,” she said. “We learn to work with it.”
Dave got up from his folding chair and went back to his car. He still hadn’t heard from Ruth and was again speculating about where she and her family might be, including that they might have been sent back to Haiti on a deportation flight.
He looked dejected, but said he didn’t plan on going back to Ohio until he heard from Ruth – not until he knew his friend was okay.
“I flinch when I hear the beep that it will be the wrong message,” said Dave. “But I keep trying to hope. I don’t know what else to do. “
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