4 bus rides + 5 subway rides and 2 taxi rides = an exhausting day of traveling. On Tuesday I spend the day tagging along behind my co-worker Manuel as we traveled all over the city meeting with different migrant families about their specific concerns regarding their immigration status. First we went to the Office of Migration near the port where as early as the 1800 immigrant families were detained upon arrival and made to stay in a hotel facility for up to 3 months before being allowed to enter the country. Now the buildings are used for the offices of immigration. La Fundación works with families and individuals trying to navigate the complicated process of obtaining residency papers. As we walked around Manuel seemed to know a lot of people and we had to stop and greet many families and individuals as they waited with number tags to be called for their turn to speak with an immigration official. First we met with a woman from the Dominican Republic who has been living in Buenos Aires for 4 years. After waiting for quite some time Manuel helped to explain her status to the official and to turn in a signed document that she was asked to provide, only to be given another document and told to return ten days later! Then we met with a Korean family who had also been living in BA for 4 years and was having trouble getting papers because their son had just turned 18 so they had to change his status so he could apply as an individual.
After meeting with a couple other families we took a break and walked along Puerto Madero. It was hard to adjust to the contrast of the immigration offices and the ritzy port and tall condominiums. Here is a picture of the "Puente de la Mujer" (bridge of the woman) in the locks of Puerto Madero.
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