Charities in Texas Struggle to Send Aid Across the Border Into Mexico Julian Aguilar - The Texas Tribune
go to original September 2, 2014

“Junior” Silva walks through the chapel and the Senda de Vida immigrant shelter in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on August 24, 2014. (Julián Aguilar)

REYNOSA, Mexico — The siren and flashing red sign on the bridge into this border town meant a car loaded with donations from charitable Texans had to undergo a secondary inspection. Armed agents asked the passengers — a nun, a priest and a church volunteer from Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen — what they were carrying and where they were headed.

The parish at Sacred Heart has acted as a shelter for thousands of Central American women and children crossing the border illegally into Texas. Donations have come pouring in, and shelter officials say they now have far more of some goods than they need.

But their efforts to take some of the surplus provisions from Texas into Mexico — where some border crossers have been deported, and where others are waiting out the massive law enforcement build-up in Texas — have been hindered by a combination of Mexican tax laws and the violence in the border city.

For starters, there's a value limit: In addition to personal belongings, travelers from the United States can only take up to $75 worth of products or currency into Mexico. It’s also a toss-up whether they will get hit with high taxes, face a long wait at the bridge or watch their items get confiscated by Mexican officials.

One Reynosa charity operator who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation said a common strategy is to divide up goods across several travelers to avoid problems at customs.

Read the rest at The Texas Tribune

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