Migrant crisis: State of emergency in the border city of El Paso

A Haitian family walks along the border fence of El Paso after crossing the Rio Grande, called Rio Bravo in Mexico. Desperation now also reigns on the US side of the wall: over the weekend, the mayor of El Paso declared a state of emergency in reaction to the high number of migrants crossing the border.

The Rio Grande forms the approximately 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile)-long border between Mexico and the US state of Texas. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said that with more and more asylum-seekers coming into the community, and with temperatures dropping as winter sets in, it was "the right time to declare a state of emergency."

In Eagle Pass, Texas, this massive barbed wire fence has been put in place to prevent people from crossing the border. Title 42, introduced by former President Donald Trump, allows authorities to turn back migrants, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus deprive them of the opportunity to apply for asylum.

Under Title 42, hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers were deported. Many have been living in tent camps along the border fence — like this Venezuelan migrant with his young daughter. He is one of thousands waiting to apply for asylum.

The way to the United States is dangerous: refugees from South America like this Venezuelan group have crossed half a continent on foot. On their way they have to overcome swamps, rainforests, mountains and deserts. But criminal gangs also threaten people on their flight. In a "caravan" like this one, they hope for a little more protection.

Crosses on the border fence near Tijuana commemorate the people who died trying to escape. In June, 53 dead migrants were discovered in a truck in Texas, having died of heatstroke and dehydration. Since 2014, around 6,500 migrants have been reported dead or missing in Latin America and along the southern border of the US.

Exhausted and relieved, this family has just crossed the Rio Grande and reached El Paso. With the declaration of a state of emergency, the city now has the option to convert certain facilities into emergency shelters. It can also request additional staff from the state of Texas to care for and house the people. Initially, the state of emergency will last for seven days.