Migrant rights activists gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border near Imperial Beach on Wednesday morning for a prayer vigil and to launch an annual march, this year from San Diego to Calexico, to call attention to the plight of undocumented immigrants.
"All they want is a better life," said Enrique Morones, speaking from Border Field State Park where about 25 activists gathered.
Thousands of mostly Mexican citizens have died trying to cross the border since the mid 1990s, many from exposure. "There's a migrant dying every day. We have to stop that," said Morones.
Members of his group, called Border Angels, walked about an hour to Friendship Park near the steel fence that separates the two nations.
On the Mexican side of the border, about 70 Mexicans, including some who had been deported from the United States or who had been caught trying to cross the border without permission, greeted their arrival and participated in the prayer.
The activists on the U.S. side called for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway for some undocumented immigrants to legalize their status and ultimately become U.S. citizens.
On the Mexican side, demonstrators called on the Mexican government to provide better protection of Mexican citizens who are deported by the United States. They called on their government not to allow repatriations to occur during the night, when migrants can become targets for gangs and corrupt police.
The Mexican group planned to march to Mexicali to bring attention to their issues.
The sixth annual Marcha Migrante is a five-day event that includes stops at a migrant shelter in Tecate, Baja California, a cemetery in Imperial County where unidentified migrants who died while trying to cross the border are buried, and Calexico. Organizers are calling the event "Trail of Tears."
For more information visit borderangels.org
