() — When Santa Claus arrived at the El Paso, Texas, migrant shelter to bring gifts to the children, one migrant asked for just a photo with him.
The photo taken by Geovanny Caripaz, 39, was quickly sent via WhatsApp to his 7-year-old son in Venezuela.
“I told him that Santa Claus is in the United States, so his gift could take a while to get to Venezuela,” Caripaz said.
His son, Carlos Santiago Caripaz, desperately wanted a bicycle for Christmas, according to his father, who left Venezuela three months ago.
Responding with a voice note, the boy told his father that he loved the photo and asked if it was really Santa with him.
A breaking down, Caripaz told the bike will arrive after he finds work in the United States.
“I told him that Three Kings Day would arrive or sometime in January,” he said.
Caripaz plans to travel to Dallas, where he has family and friends. But for now, he has slept on the streets near the Sacred Heart Church immigrant shelter, which is currently over capacity for him.
El Paso’s temperatures have turned frigid due to the winter storm battering the United States, and amid the recent surge in immigrant arrivals, many like Caripaz have struggled to find shelter.
The city declared a state of emergency last weekend for the thousands of migrants living in unsafe conditions, as the Trump administration’s border policy keeping migrants out of the United States remains in flux amid legal proceedings. .
Many of the migrants arriving in El Paso do not want to stay, according to the city authoritiesbut the local infrastructure struggles to support the arriving and departing crowds.
The Sacred Heart Church shelter said it prioritizes women and children during the cold front, and has been open to all migrants, regardless of immigration status. Hundreds of people are still waiting outside the church.
Many migrants told that sleeping in minus 6 degrees Celsius has been very difficult, but being away from their families is especially hard at Christmas.
“I do it for my children,” Caripaz said. “I came to work, I have faith … (My son) wants his bike and I told him that Santa can’t bring it yet, but he will bring it in January.”
‘s Ashley Killough, Ed Lavandera, Paradise Afshar and Christina Maxouris contributed to this article.
