Asylum-seekers who have been forced by the Trump administration to wait in a Mexican border camp for their U.S. immigration court dates now have a place to eat in some dignity. World Central Kitchen, the humanitarian aid organization founded by chef José Andrés, has constructed a tented “dining hall” where families can sit together. “The campsite is equipped with tables and chairs so those coming in can have a good meal, and since its official opening on Monday, many have lined up every evening,” CBS 4 Valley Central reported.
Late last year, Andrés dispatched his World Central Kitchen’s relief team to the Matamoros camp, where an estimated 2,500 asylum-seekers wait due to the Trump administration’s inhumane and illegal Remain in Mexico policy. “’In the end, it’s very simple,” Andrés said at the time according to The Washington Post. “Our motto comes from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people may eat, I will be there.”
That work has included collaborating with local organizations like Team Brownsville to assist additional families, and a tweet from World Central Kitchen on Tuesday showed an organization relief worker helping prepare food for as many as 1,000 people at a truck stationed in Brownsville, Texas. “Chef Elyssa is sautéing apples, sweet potatoes, and carrots in some milk and buttermilk to serve with pulled pork and salsa verde,” the tweet said.
Mackenzie Maas, a World Central Kitchen relief worker, told CBS 4 Valley Central that many families have used the dining facility since it was opened, and line up in advance in order to secure a space. Others, however, still use and share makeshift kitchens they’ve created near the individual tents where they live. "We dedicate our free time improving our living conditions in this area,” Cuban asylum Joel Fernandez Cabrera told CBS 4 Valley Central. “We share kitchens and our food among each other.”
These are families deserving of dignity, and a table to sit at and chairs to sit on while eating can do much to restore some normalcy to their lives. But it’s also important to remember that these families shouldn’t be in this position in the first place, because they could be allowed to fight their cases in the U.S. Instead, they are being forced to wait in dangerous and inhumane conditions, like at this border camp. "We don't have a choice, it's not easy out here,” a mom who asked to not be identified told CBS 4 Valley Central. “We're doing what we can to at least provide our kids with food on the table.”