THE ANGEL OF MATAMOROS

ON A MUGGY June night, Luis Miguel Montimo turns away from the Gateway International Bridge over the Rio Grande and walks toward Matamoros, Mexico, carrying his almost two-year-old son, José Luis. The 32-year-old with a pockmarked yet boyish face has traveled from Honduras, where a gang burned down his home and killed two of his children. He hoped to cross into the United States to seek asylum. Yet when he reached the midpoint of the bridge earlier that day, an American border official turned him away. Montimo says the official told him that his son would be an adult by the time they were allowed in.

Now, after a three-month journey, he’s ready toup hope,” Glady Cañas Aguilar tells Montimo as she puts her arm around his shoulder. “If you’ve made it this far, it’s worth staying until you can ask for asylum.” Sobbing, he walks back to join the two other migrant families camped out on the bridge.