Family of migrant killed in Brownsville speaks to KGNS

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - A 34-year-old man is charged with eight counts of manslaughter after allegedly plowing his SUV into a bus stop crowded with migrants outside a shelter in Brownsville, Texas.

Family members for one of the eight victims killed were staying at a local shelter in Laredo.

The holding institute is just one of the two non-governmental organizations in town that sees hundreds of migrants on a daily basis.

The family of Enyerbeth Jose Cabarcas Meza was one of the many families that was seeking refuge at the shelter on Monday.

Meza was one of the eight victims who was killed in the deadly crash in Brownsville; now, his family is left to pick up the pieces of a dream that was cut short.

Meza was just 23-year-old, when he traveled from Venezuela to Brownsville.

The family was not able to remain together in the United States, so they were separated and some of the men stayed in Brownsville.

Meanwhile, the women were sent to Laredo due to the overflow of migrants in the Rio Grande Valley.

His mother Maria Cabarcas said this was just the beginning of their new life that has now been cut short for their loved one.

“We are going to Chicago, but we don’t want my son to be repatriated because he had a dream of getting here and I want him to stay here,” said Cabarcas. “The family came together for Matamoros, but we were separated because he was over the age. We were all separated, and he was the first one to get out and his friend welcomed him to the Ozanam shelter.”

Maria said they do not have all of the information at the moment but a friend of his son told her Enyerbeth was at the bus stop on his way to be reunited with his step father when the van crashed into a group.

The sister of Enyerbeth hopes that by sharing his story, it brings awareness to the dangers migrants face while pursuing the American Dream.

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