amna: An influx of migrants from
earlier this year has
overwhelmed some local
governments on the u.s.-mexico
border.
In the border town of El Paso,
nearly 38,000 migrants have
arrived since January.
From the Cronkite school of
journalism in Phoenix, reporter
Ariana Araiza introduces us to
some of the volunteers stepping
in to address migrants' health
needs as they enter the united
States.
Ariana: For migrants at this el
Paso, Texas, clinic, a medical
exam could be a life saver.
Many have endured the perilous
journey to get to the U.S.
Border.
Glenn: Many have pressing health
care needs, needs for addressing
mental health, and in certain
instances addressing the trauma
of literally falling off the
wall.
Ariana: That border wall is just
a few blocks away.
Migrants have flooded into el
Paso in the past few months.
Their sheer numbers have
strained the city's social
safety net.
Dr. Glenn Fennelly chairs
pediatrics at Texas Tech
university El Paso.
He carves out time to volunteer
at this clinic.
Glenn: Many have walked in shoes
that don't have proper soles,
they have cactus needles in
their feet.
And many have shared stories of
abuse, trauma, rape.
Ariana: Fennelly leads
volunteers from Texas Tech's
border health program.
The clinic provides free medical
and mental healthcare for
migrants.
>> Usually the patients we see
are here for acute clinical
needs.
Ariana: Medical students like
soroush omidvarnia say migrants'
health needs can be decades in
the making.
>> Usually they haven't had
proper clinical care in their
life even before coming to the
United States.
So it's really important for us
to not just provide care for the
condition that just brings them
to us but also find out what
other needs they have.
Ariana: These volunteers are
part of a larger humanitarian
effort to reinforce an El Paso
medical system already
overwhelmed by migrants.
On the Mexican side of the
border, every day thousands of
migrants cram into Juarez after
traveling sometimes hundreds or
even thousands of miles.
Diana ureña is one of the lucky
ones to make it into the united
States.
But first she and her newborn
son had to wait 16 days in
Juarez before their entry was
processed.
Robbed on the journey, she has
no money, so she bides her time
at this shelter in El Paso.
Ureña and her family left
Ecuador to escape gangs, making
their way through the Darien
gap, a roadless jungle that's a
dangerous passage point for
migrants.
Diana: Can you imagine living
through that?
In the jungle you see dead
people, you see everything.
On top of that, girls get raped.
I had that fear the whole
journey, for me and my daughter.
Ariana: Solangi uscategi and her
family experienced similar
trauma on their trip from
Colombia.
Once here, uscategi's husband
was arrested on an immigration
violation, leaving her and her
daughters stranded.
Solangi: I'm desperate.
I feel helpless and alone,
without my husband and money I
feel helpless.
Ariana: Back at the medical
clinic, the volunteer team does
their work under the radar.
The demand for health care is so
high, the clinic would be
overwhelmed if they advertised
their services.
Dr. Fennelly says it's a small
solution borne of necessity.
Glenn: This is a humanitarian
medical response to a man-made
crisis.
Ariana: For these volunteers,
welcoming and healing is how
they battle this crisis.
For the pbs newshour, I'm Ariana
Araiza with Cronkite news in el
Paso.
♪♪