In early summer members of local faith-based organizations in Laredo, Texas didn't have a formal group or a plan. They heard that the bus station in the U.S. border city was filling up with Central American migrants, so they took food and hygiene products to them. They saw that no one else was helping.
The volunteers then formed the Laredo Humanitarian Relief Team after their mayor told local media that his city wouldn't use taxpayer money to deal with the influx of undocumented immigrants.
Relief Team Forms on Border When Public Funds Fall Short
5
The log book at the Holding Institute in Laredo, Texas, tracks the names, countries of origin, and destinations of the migrant families they've helped, Aug.12, 2014. (VOA / V. Macchi)
6
Volunteer Blanca Bermudez helps newly-arrived migrant Ana and her sons choose new shoes from the donations at the Holding Institute in Laredo, Texas, Aug. 12, 2014. (VOA / V. Macchi)
7
A 12-year-old boy, who arrived with his mother and brothers from Mexico, learns to make their donated clothes fit in a small suitcase at the Holding Institute in Laredo, Texas, Aug. 12, 2014. (VOA / V. Macchi)
8
Members of the Laredo Humanitarian Relief Team attend a vigil for migrants and travelers at Tres Laredos Park in Laredo, Texas, which sits across the river from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Aug. 12, 2014. (VOA / V. Macchi)