(27 Mar 2017) A few dozen Cuban migrants whose efforts to reach the US have stalled at the border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, are publicizing their plight with a twist on the Catholic procession called the Stations of the Cross.
As they trudge through the streets, one plays the role of Jesus, with a bloodied face and carrying a big wooden cross.
About midway through the procession, they stop in front of the state migrant assistance office that stands directly opposite an international bridge across the Rio Grande to Laredo, Texas.
Some of the Cubans have been stranded here since then-President Barack Obama on January 12 ended the so-called "wet foot, dry foot" policy that had given Cubans a privileged path to the US.
Until then, nearly any Cubans reaching US soil had the right to stay.
Now they are treated like migrants from other nations, facing a much tougher barrier.
Some here estimate there could now be 1,200 Cubans in the city, though Mexican officials say about 600 have started the process for residency in Mexico.
Many leave the shelter each day to work in restaurants or on construction sites.
Maite Silva and her husband arrived 10 days ago after a three-month odyssey: Cuba to Guyana to Venezuela to Colombia to Panama to Costa Rica to a boat that took them around Nicaragua to Honduras to Guatemala to Mexico.
They had been trying to get out of Cuba for years, seeing no future for themselves.
Last year, Cuban authorities caught them four times trying to board boats for Florida.
The Havana woman said they were jailed and then followed closely by undercover police.
Silva says a return to Cuba is not an option.
Of all the countries they traversed, Panama and Mexico seemed the most like places they could settle, but the 30-year-old hasn't given up on reaching the US.
She says Cubans are still arriving in Nuevo Laredo, encouraged by others who hope that if they build a critical mass, they will force governments to take action.
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