Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants protest against imprisonment and poor conditions on the roof of the entrance of Siglo XXI, a migratory station in Tapachula, Mexico. NGOs have expressed concern about violations of human rights and compromised legal procedures at the migratory stations, where they are subject to expedited deportations. This group of migrants was sent back to Venezuela on a charter flight. 
2024 Photo Contest - World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award

The Two Walls

Photographer

Alejandro Cegarra

The New York Times/Bloomberg
06 June, 2022

Venezuelan
asylum
seekers
and
migrants
protest
against
imprisonment
and
poor
conditions
on
the
roof
of
the
entrance
of
Siglo
XXI,
a
migratory
station
in
Tapachula,
Mexico.
NGOs
have
expressed
concern
about
violations
of
human
rights
and
compromised
legal
procedures
at
the
migratory
stations,
where
they
are
subject
to
expedited
deportations.
This
group
of
migrants
was
sent
back
to
Venezuela
on
a
charter
flight.

Since 2019, Mexico's immigration policies have undergone a significant shift, transforming from a nation historically open to migrants and asylum seekers at its southern border to a country that enforces stringent immigration policies. A series of compounding factors – evolving immigration and foreign policies under successive US administrations, the imposition of COVID-19 protocols, and political and economic instability across Central and South America – contribute to an ongoing crisis at Mexico’s borders. Furthermore, US implementation of expedited deportation policies, initially under the guise of COVID-19 concerns through "Title 42," and later under "Title 8," which criminalized repeated attempts to cross the border, has left thousands stranded in Mexican border cities. These areas, often under the control of corrupt authorities and drug cartels, force migrants and asylum seekers to wait indefinitely in improvised camps where they are exposed to heightened risks of violence and precarious living conditions.

The collaboration between the US and Mexico to deny asylum and enforce harsh migration policies has fortified barriers for those seeking refuge. The physical, psychological, and administrative obstacles erected by these policies symbolize the shutting of doors once open to those most in need of safety.

Drawing from his own first-hand experience of migrating from his native Venezuela to Mexico in 2017, photographer Alejandro Cegarra initiated this project in 2018. His work documents the plight of deeply vulnerable migrant communities with respect and sensitivity. Through his photography, he hopes to foster greater understanding, empathy, and solidarity toward those on the frontlines of the global migration crisis.

 

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Alejandro Cegarra
About the photographer

Alejandro Cegarra (b.1989) is a photographer from Venezuela whose work explores the essence of belonging, the pursuit of a home, and the denunciation of human rights violations in Venezuela and Mexico, where he currently resides. Cegarra began his career in photojournalism by filling in for photographers at Venezuel...

Read the full biography
Technical information
Shutter Speed

1/2000

ISO

400

Camera

M10-R

Jury comment

This project is an example of dynamic, world-class storytelling. The images are at once unsparing and respectful, and convey the intimate emotions present in diverse migrant journeys. The concern of migration resonates across the region and the jury felt that this photographer's own positionality as a migrant afforded a sensitive human centered perspective that centers the agency and resilience of migrants.