EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Residents from the Barrio Chamizal in South-Central El Paso marched and protested at the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) port of entry to demand that commercial trucks re-route to the Tornillo port of entry.
The protest was held by the community advocacy group – Familias Unidas del Chamizal – and included a vigil in honor of the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The group has long advocated for the removal of trucks from BOTA, citing decades of air pollution and contamination from idle trucks at the crossing harming their communities.
“The Tornillo port of entry was built specifically for the trans-national trucks. They’ve refused to use it. They’ve refused to invest in that. But now they are being forced to and they’re fighting it every step of the way,” said Cemelli de Aztlan, a community organizer with Familias Unidas. “The maquiladora industry has the power and resources to redirect the trucks to Tornillo and out of harm’s way.”…