REYNOSA, Mexico — It’s lunch time at the Taqueria La Cuchilla, a restaurant in Reynosa, Mexico, that serves traditional Mexican tacos. Silvia Ramirez is starting to get busier and must take care of every detail. She is the restaurant manager, but she is also a migrant from Guatemala.
“I was one of the first ones on the gazebo. It was 75 of us. There was none of this back then,” she said, pointing to the square crowded with tents where migrants sleep.
The restaurant is right across the street from Plaza de la República Square. Its owner of 20 years, Julio Cantú, has employed seven more migrants for different shifts.
“We were in need of new hires and they were there. They come and help us in different days. Some of them stay longer,” said Cantú, who had just arrived for the daily rush hour.
For Ramirez, this job feels like a fresh start in life, a new opportunity she didn’t expect to find after seeing her first dream of living in the U.S. with her children shattered.
"As soon as we crossed, immigration sent us back here, just like everyone you see here,” said Ramirez.
For Cantú, employing migrants makes perfect business sense as it is readily available help, but it is also a matter of humanity and solidarity with them. He said this is a way to help them in getting back on their feet after one of the hardest moments in many of their lives.
“Look, I have jobs, and we give it to them. They come with not a lot of money. They have left their families and children behind. They need that someone to help them the right way,” said the restaurant owner.
The nights at the square of having to sleep in turns to keep watch against thieves and kidnappers are a thing of the past for Ramirez. She can rent her own place now, and is grateful to Cantú for the opportunity.
“It’s all thanks to him that he gave us the chance. Not everybody will do that for us. I am thankful to God and to him,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez said that many of her coworkers also want to do the same and start a new life in Reynosa.