You have national guards members
in place, state troopers from
the state of Texas, also here.
They are keeping people from
what was a very easy crossing
from going over.
Telling them instead go down to
the bridge, the formal crossing.
That's the only way you can get
in.
The question is what happens
once you actually get over and
you become processed by cbp?
That really depends on who you
ask.
We watch as they step over a
debris field of personal
belongings, clothes and trash,
reminders of the thousands who
crossed illegally before them,
most hoping for asylum in the
U.S.
In this very spot last month we
introduced you to this woman and
her husband and their 5-year-old
son.
Like so many migrants chasing
their American dream they waited
for the right time to step
across. >> Are you scared?
[ Speaking non-english ]
>> He said he's a little scared.
It's always hard because you
don't know what's going to
happen.
>> Reporter: That was their
second attempt to enter the U.S.
They are now in Indianapolis
near his brother and staying
with a friend.
There's still the fear that they
can expel us, Franklin says.
We don't want to do anything bad
that will call attention.
When they entered the U.S.
Border agents brought them in,
no questions asked.
A sign they say of the seemingly
overwhelmed land crossing.
They only told us what we needed
to do, go here, go there, she
says.
After seven days in immigration
detention in El Paso she says
they were granted conditional
release, now they wait for a
January court hearing to
determine their status and
future in the U.S.
Rafael Rojas shared with us his
treacherous and deadly journey
from Venezuela to Mexico,
witnessing tragedy throughout.
When we met him last month he
held tight to his shoes and
followed the same stone path
others took just hours earlier.
But unlike the prior family,
Rafael was handcuffed and
immediately deported more than
700 miles away.
In his last message to us he
said he vows to keep trying
until he makes it to the U.S.
Then there's this family.
Four weeks ago 9-year-old ruby
told me all the countries she
traveled to just to get to
Mexico.
Their dream destination sketched
out. We caught up with them still in
Mexico now renting a small home,
no kitchen, no heating, ruby
still without a school but
determined.
[ Speaking non-english ]
>> She wants to learn English.
They no longer live at the
encampment because those tents
no longer exist.
In this messy clash with Mexican
police late last month the
migrants living here were forced
to leave.
Tents and blankets burned as the
space was cleared out.
The mayor tells me the migrants
were offered city shelters.
>> It was dangerous for them to
be there and we have place to
offer them.
>> Reporter: He warns many
migrants have become vulnerable
targets of organized crime, a
ran Francisco desperately wants
out.
The family tried to cross twice
before.
I really don't like the idea of
staying here he tells me.
He fears the dangers of mild
trafficking, cartels and more.
Once known as the murder capital
of the world, still dangerous,
despite the uncertainties at
night hundreds lined the U.S.
Side of the Rio grande lighting
fires to keep warm in the
freezing cold, hoping they will
be granted asylum, a seemingly
endless stream of migrants of
different backgrounds but with
the same goal.
This family also getting ready
to cross, making the difficult
decision to leave behind their
dog who has been with them from
the start, staying with a
caretaker in Mexico.
A tearful good-bye but Francisco
believes his family's future, a
safer one, is on the other side.
The family had planned to cross
where everyone else was
crossing, the stones right over
there, but that is not possible
anymore because of the
infrastructure that's now in
place. The barbed wire.
You can hear some shouting that
is some of the folks who are the
migrants on this the Mexican