Eagle Pass, Texas, Saturday, September 23, 2023 - People who crossed the US/Mexico border are led, single file, to a border patrol processing center along the banks of the Rio Grande. The number of Venezuelans in particular has been spiking. U.S. border officials apprehended more than 11,000 people from Venezuela in July and 22,000 in August — and the September total is expected to be even higher. With detention space limited — especially for families — many are being released while they wait for judges to consider their asylum claims.The chaotic border scenario has become a crisis for President Biden, who is facing criticism not only from his usual Republican enemies but also from some Democrats who say their communities cannot afford the costs of absorbing the newcomers.

Piedras, Negras, Mexico, Sunday, September 24, 2023 - A group of men and women prepare to cross the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Mexico. “Every day, more people are setting off for the Darien, risking their lives, risking the lives of their children,” said Maria Garza, 28, part of a group of young Venezuelans gathered on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande on a recent evening.Venezuelans stranded in Mexico hold out hope Biden will shift border policy: ‘I want to have faith’Her destination was Washington, D.C., where she has relatives. She also has a sister who recently arrived in Texas.“We are fleeing because we live in a dictatorship,” said Garza, 28, a college graduate. “Because we don’t earn enough to buy food. Because, as young people, we have no future.”It had been a month since Garza and her traveling companions left Venezuela. They peered across the river into the United States.

Eagle Pass, Texas, Sunday, September 24, 2023 - A group of Venezuelan migrants set off to cross the Rio Grande late at night from Piedras Negras, Mexico. Glints of orange-tinted light from the Border Patrol installation in Eagle Pass rippled on the water. Generators hummed. A freight train rumbled above on the rust-hued Union Pacific International Railroad Bridge. Spectral figures paced back and forth in the dark.“We want to get this over with,” Garza said. “To move on.”She and the others began to place backpacks and belongings in plastic trash bags to keep them dry.A few of the men took off their jeans and stripped down to shorts. Everyone wondered about the shoe question.“Better go barefoot,” said a figure on the dark shore, not one of the group. “Your sneakers will slip on the rocks. It’s like ice.”Soon, they were off, a procession of individuals holding hands and stepping gingerly in the water. Several stragglers, including a Honduran man on crutches, picked up the rear. The group quickly reached a small island split between the two countries. The narrow stretch provided a respite before stepping into the capricious current on the U.S. side.

Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, September 25, 2023 - A man crawls through razor wire, as he and hundreds of others gather and wait on the banks of the Rio Grande.The Biden administration says that since May it has removed more than 250,000 people who were in the United States illegally.But migrants from Venezuela, which has seen more than 7 million people flee economic collapse in recent years, cannot be easily deported, because the two countries lack formal diplomatic relations.Venezuelans with passports and financial sponsors in the United States are eligible for entry under a humanitarian parole program. The program, which is also open to Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans, is capped at a total of 30,000 migrants a month — which falls short of the demand.

Eagle Pass, Texas, Thursday, September 21, 2023 - Asylum seekers from South America brave the tricky current of the Rio Grande as they complete an arduous journey to America. Crossing the river from Piedras Negras to a public park in Eagle Pass, Texas has proven dangerous for many migrants. It has been reported that over the last year, dozens have drowned.

Eagle Pass, Texas, Thursday, September 21, 2023 - A family desperately burrows through razor wire in an effort to cross the US/Mexico border along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass. They were turned away by a national guardswoman. The razor wire is part of Operation Lone Star, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott dubs his controversial campaign to deter migrants.Farther upriver, a row of shipping containers blockading entry form what Abbott calls a “steel wall.” The federal government is suing Texas for another impediment — a line of wrecking-ball-sized orange buoys positioned in the middle of the Rio Grande.None of the tactics has worked. If border agents don’t cut the wire, crossers deploy blankets and items of clothing to climb over the obstruction, or tunnel through it, often ending up bloodied.

Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, September 25, 2023 - Tears of joy are shed as a family crosses into the U.S. on the banks of the Rio Grande. In interviews, Venezuelans said that while they didn’t necessarily understand the details of U.S. policy, they believed they would be allowed to enter the country if they could reach the border.“Every day, more people are setting off for the Darien, risking their lives, risking the lives of their children,” said Maria Garza, 28, part of a group of young Venezuelans gathered on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande on a recent evening.

Jacumba, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Tatiana Bermudez shelters her daughter, Lucy Maria, 7, from rain and cold as they wait for U.S. Border Patrol to transport them from a makeshift camp.The migrants camped near Jacumba Hot Springs made their way there from multiple countries, including China, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru. They said they came fleeing violence or in search of a new life.

Jacumba, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers swarm a truck delivering hot food that was prepared, cooked and delivered by a small group of local volunteers. Volunteers say an average of 500 migrants are now living in three camps in the area on any given day. On Thanksgiving Day, they were overwhelmed by the number of people who remained at the camp by dinnertime and 50 migrants went without food.“It really just became an avalanche,” said resident Samuel Schultz, who is coordinating with advocacy organizations to get supplies to the camps.Ten weeks ago, he said, the volunteers were the only source of water for migrants as temperatures soared above 100 degrees in the Mountain Empire. Now, he said, they are the only source of protection in rugged winter conditions.

Jacumba, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers from China, Colombia and the Middle East camp near the border wall, often waiting days to be transported by the U.S. Border Patrol.Wu Heng, 28, smoked a cigarette as the sun began to set over a camp near Interstate 8. The wind was picking up, and he and his 55-year-old father had not secured a tent for the night. Their camp was exposed.Wu said he had worked for an electronics company in Sichuan province and hoped to go to Los Angeles to start a new life. Like other migrants, he said he was given little information about how long they would be on hold at the camp. On Saturday night, temperatures fell to 39 degrees.On Sunday morning, he sent a plea to a reporter. “It’s so cold here,” he said, and they were still without a tent. Could someone please get them one?

Nannie Auclair wears plastic bags on her feet as she traverses through flood waters carrying a case of Budweiser she just bought at a neighborhood market as tropical storm Hilary dumps torrential rain on the area on August 20, 2023 in Thermal, California.

California was deluged was storms and flooding from the north to the south in 2023.Climate change is faulted for these extreme conditions. In the northern part of the state, the 11th atmospheric river storm of the season lefta trail of soggy misery as it broke decades old rainfall records and breached levees. In Tulare County, residents on both sides of the Tule River were ordered to evacuate as levels rose at Lake Success, sending water running over the spillway at Schafer Dam. To the south, Tropical Storm Hilary wreaked havoc on the normally dry and arid Coachella Valley. Even elderly living in a desert senior living facility waited days to be rescued and the only equipment that could reach them was a front loader.THERMAL, CA - AUGUST 20, 2023: Maria Elena Zaragoza of Thermal watches as heavy rains push flood waters into her driveway as tropical storm Hilary dumps torrential rain on the area on August 20, 2023 in Thermal, California.

Residents from a senior living facility are held by firefighters in a front loader while being brought to safety after the Affinity Senior Living was inundated with flood waters from tropical storm Hilary on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California.

Ronald Mendiola walks barefoot through the mud after checking on his house on Horizon Road on August 22, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. He and his family had to climb onto their roof to escape the flood waters from tropical storm Hilary Sunday night. Jimmy Laker, a local resident rescued the Mendiola family from the rooftop with his four wheel drive truck.

Muddy shoes are left behind on the hood of one of many stuck vehicles in the mud and flood waters after tropical storm Hilary sent damaging flood water to Horizon Road on August 22, 2023 in Cathedral City, California.

Nannie Auclair wears plastic bags on her feet as she traverses through flood waters carrying a case of Budweiser she just bought at a neighborhood market as tropical storm Hilary dumps torrential rain on the area on August 20, 2023 in Thermal, California.

Nick Rodriguez, left, hands his brother Rick Figueroa a cooler of water after walking though waist deep mud to reach an outside refrigerator in Figueroa’s flooded backyard from the remnants of tropical storm Hilary on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. The inside of the house has 18 inches of flood water. “The water came into the house about midnight full throttle, Figueroa said. He and his family hunkered down in one room until sunrise. Unable to escape out their front door Figueroa’s wife Dawn and daughter Ella escaped over a neighbor’s back wall Monday morning.

Nick Rodriguez, left, hands his brother Rick Figueroa a cooler of water after walking though waist deep mud to reach an outside refrigerator in Figueroa’s flooded backyard from the remnants of tropical storm Hilary on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. The inside of the house has 18 inches of flood water. “The water came into the house about midnight full throttle, Figueroa said. He and his family hunkered down in one room until sunrise. Unable to escape out their front door Figueroa’s wife Dawn and daughter Ella escaped over a neighbor’s back wall Monday morning.

An exasperated Irineo Zaragoza and his wife Veronica try to salvage personal items after their home was completely flooded again after Tuesday night’s heavy rains on March 15, 2023 in Woodlake, California.

An exasperated Irineo Zaragoza and his wife Veronica try to salvage personal items after their home was completely flooded again after Tuesday night’s heavy rains on March 15, 2023 in Woodlake, California.

Sergio Lopez of Thermal, middle, steers a large wooden plank through flood waters to help Carlos Gutierrez, right, divert the flood water running on Avenue 70 during tropical storm Hilary on August 20, 2023 in Thermal, California.

Dawn Figueroa, right, hugs her neighbor Mary Sumrall after Dawn and her daughter Ella escaped their flooded and mud ridden home over the backyard brick wall into Sumrall’s yard on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. About midnight, water and debris came rushing into Figueroa’s home on Horizon Road from tropical storm Hilary. The family hunkered down in one room until sunrise and then we able to escape over the backyard wall with help from Sumrall.

Dawn Figueroa, right, hugs her neighbor Mary Sumrall after Dawn and her daughter Ella escaped their flooded and mud ridden home over the backyard brick wall into Sumrall’s yard on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. About midnight, water and debris came rushing into Figueroa’s home on Horizon Road from tropical storm Hilary. The family hunkered down in one room until sunrise and then we able to escape over the backyard wall with help from Sumrall.

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA - AUGUST 21, 2023: A man lays in the back of his stuck car near many other stuck vehicles on the flooded Avenida La Vista on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California.

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA - AUGUST 21, 2023: A man lays in the back of his stuck car near many other stuck vehicles on the flooded Avenida La Vista on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California.

Imperial, CA, Saturday, April 8, 2023 - Former boxer Hector Lizarraga recently retired as a police officer and is now opening a boxing gym at his home in Imperial. Lizarraga was a champion featherweight nicknamed “Papi,” known for his toughness in the ring and a deadly body shot. His professional career, however, didn’t start off well, posting a 5-7-3 losing record before changing managers twice and going on a streak of 31-1-2.That win streak included Lizarraga defeating favored fighter Welcome Ncita of South Africa in 1997 to win the International Boxing Federation’s World Championship in the featherweight division.“People have the wrong idea about boxing,” Lizarraga said. “They think that boxing is dangerous, and people do get hurt, but boxing is more than that. There is discipline and hard work. I was able to follow instructions in the ring and that’s what made me successful.”Lizarraga’s pension is $39,000. And he knows exactly where he will spend that money. This month, he opened a boxing gym in his backyard, featuring a covered 12½-by-12½-foot ring and seven boxing bags.The gym will be geared toward teaching the sport to kids. As a teenager, he could have only dreamed of learning to box using the kind of new equipment he now has throughout his backyard. As a police officer, he thought kids in Imperial County had too little to do and ended up in trouble.“I see boxing as a way of giving them something productive to do,” said Lizarraga, who was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015. “I’m planning on using it as a platform to give them goals in life. They don’t have to be professional boxers, but they can learn to exercise, learn work ethic and keep their minds occupied.”

West Hills, CA, Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - Alex Ramos, 61, is a four-time Golden Glove winning middleweight with a pro record of 39-10-2 with 20 knockouts. He is currently owed $13,000 from the California Boxers’ Pension.A native of New York City, he was officially endorsed by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as the Bronx Bomber and wore pinstripes in the ring. Ramos, 61, now has dementia and other medical conditions that require him to live in an assisted living facility in West Hills. He said he has come to resent the sport he once loved.“Boxing is a sport that is terrible,” Ramos said. “That’s what I did for a living. I was good at it. I was on top of the world and all over the internet. But a lot of fighters end up hurt and damaged at the end of their career.”After his fighting days were over, Ramos started the Retired Boxers Foundation to help fighters who found themselves homeless or in financial straits after leaving the ring.“We’ve been able to help hundreds of fighters,” he said. “A lot of people called us and there are still people needing help.”

Edmonton, Alberta, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 - Milford Kemp, 69, is a light heavyweight with a record of 12-6-3 with 3 knockouts. He is owed $8,700 from the California Boxers’ Pension.Kemp studied ballet at UC Irvine and applied those principles to his boxing style, often frustrating his trainers. After his short career in the ring, Kemp busked the streets of Montreal as Jimi Hendrix, expressing his love of music and art in the psychedelic style of the late performer.“When I came to Montreal, the people kept calling me Jimi and I got sick of it,” he said. “They weren’t going to call me Milford for nothing. I said OK, and I got my hat, my guitar and put on some Jimi music and started doing it and it became like every Saturday and Sunday. People came to see Jimi.”Kemp, 69, has lost some of his vision and has dementia. After suffering from depression, a friend suggested that Milford start making art again in hopes of putting on exhibition to showcase his work.“I've been working on some art works right now,” Kemp said from his apartment in Edmonton. “But it's just not the same. My eyes have deteriorated, so I can't see as well. So, that means a part of my artwork will suffer and it is. Instead of painting, I’m constructing things with building blocks. It's very frustrating right now.”

Brookings, Oregon, Thursday, April 6, 2023 - Retired boxer Jenifer Alcorn is a three-time champion who now runs the South Coast Humane Society. Alcorn’s nickname was “All American” when she swept into boxing at 27. The champion featherweight won all 18 of her professional bouts — 11 by knockout. In 2003, she famously beat Mia St. John, who was the face of women’s boxing at the time.“I was a wife and a mother prior to being a boxer and so it wasn’t something that I was doing knowing that it was going to be my life,” Alcorn said. “It opened up doors in my community to allow me to have a fitness business afterward.”Alcorn said she enjoyed training and competing, but also saw boxing as a way to show others that hard work paves the way for success.“A lot of people get into fighting because they’re paying the bills and they’re hoping to be that next big person,” Alcorn said. “I did it because I’ve always been an athlete. I didn’t do it for the money.”

San Jose, CA, Friday, March 17, 2023 - Irish Mike Jameson, 69, is a retired heavyweight boxer who became Mike Tyson’s sparring partner after fighting him. Jameson also fought George Foreman, Randall “Tex” Cobb, Michael Dokes and Frank Bruno. He also spent one summer with the San Francisco 49ers, but was cut after he broke his arm.Jameson said after his loss to Tyson in 1986, the boxing legend showed up at his hotel room to ask if he wanted to be his sparring partner. Jameson said he made more money working out with Tyson than he ever did for a professional bout, traveling to Japan and other countries with the fighter and his entourage — on and off — for four years.“I was never championship material, but I could hang with these guys,” Jameson said of his boxing career. “People knew I would put on a show ... I never made a lot of money. But it was about the journey.”

Bakersfield, CA, Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - Gonzalo Montellano, 65, is a lightweight with a record of 35-3-2 with 20 knockouts. He is owed $20,000 from the Boxing Pension Fund. Montellano trained and boxed in Los Angeles as a teenager, where he delivered Rolls Royce’s to customers of his manager Vic Weiss. He said his boxing career got off to a rough start when Weiss was found dead, shot twice in the head and left in the truck of his red and white Roll Royce.He said others would promise him the world and leave him hanging. By the time he retired from boxing, he said he could barely stand the sport. “I don’t watch it very much. You’re good until you get in the top 10 and then it’s all politics. That saying ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is true for boxing.After boxing, he turned to drinking and gained 130 pounds, he said. He’s lost much of that and now trains boxers in his garage.

A performer puts on her costume before a performance in the streets of Kinshasa.Every year, some artists and performers from the collective "Ndaku ya La vie est belle" get together to walk in the streets of Kinshasa during the Kinact Festival. They wear costumes made from household waste found in the dumps and streets of Kinshasa to raise awareness about the pollution in the city. The Kinact Festival was founded in 2015 by Eddy Ekete, a Congolese born in Kinshasa, and takes place in various neighborhoods of the Congolese capital, where they bring their art and costumes to the streets of Kinshasa.

Eddy Ekete puts on his costume before a performance in the streets of Kinshasa.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members walk in the streets of Kinshasa during a performance.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members walk in the streets of Kinshasa during a performance.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members walk in the streets of Kinshasa during a performance.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members walk in the streets of Kinshasa during a performance.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members walk in the streets of Kinshasa during a performance.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members walk in the streets of Kinshasa during a performance.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" members dance .in a youth center at the end of a performance in the streets of Kinshasa.

"Ndaku ya La vie est belle" member sits in between during a performance in the streets of Kinshasa.

The Savannah Bananas Reggie the hardest working man in baseball smiles as he greets fans and signs autographs at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The Savannah Bananas is a traveling baseball game and show that last four hours and is none stop fun with their own rules for fans to enjoy.

The Savannah Bananas Malachi Mitchell does a backflip during player introductions before the two hour game against the Party Animals at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

The Savannah Bananas Noah Bridges gets up close to greet fans with a yellow rose before playing the Party Animals in Bananas rules baseball game at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

Savannah Bananas super fan Kris Kataoka, left brought his own big glove to the game and gets a high five from Dad Bod Cheerleading Squads Chris Levdahl during a player meet and greet at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

A young fan yells to get Savannah Bananas player attention for an autograph by the dugout before the game at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

Party Animals Jake Lialios, left and Savannah Bananas Noah Bridges get their grove on during pregame festivities at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

Lucas Bol, 8, of Burbank autographs Savannah Bananas Michael Deep’s jersey during pregame festivities at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

The Savannah Bananas players do some high kicks as they dance for the sellout crowd during player introductions before playing the Party Animals at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

The Savannah Bananas player Dakota Albritton plays keep away with a fan in the outfield after signing an autograph during a player meet and greet at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

Dad Bod contestants celebrate on the field to the delight of fans during pregame festivities at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

THE STREET VETDr. Kwane Stewart, known as “The Street Vet,” visits Skid Row twice a month to treat the dogs and cats of the homeless. Dr. Stewart is a veterinarian with more than twenty years of experience. He is the founder of Project Street Pet, a nonprofit organization devoted to caring for the lives of the homeless and their animals. He lives in San Diego. He was named CNN Hero of the Year for 2024 for his work treating the animals of the homeless.Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart exits the tent of Hector Abadan to examine one of Abadan’s puppies in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023.

THE STREET VET Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart talks with Christina Crayton, 39, about the health of her dog Pepper, on leash, before he examines the dog in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023.

THE STREET VET Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ examines the eyes of a puppy owned by a homeless man living in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. He comes ready with medicines, vaccines, syringes and treats, offering to see the dogs and cats on the street.He’s treated pets for extreme flea infestation, worms and, sometimes, broken bones.

THE STREET VETVeterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, right, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ walks with Hector Abadan, 58, and his dog Kilo, to Abadan’s tent where his other dog just had puppies in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. Dr. Kwane said he would check on the health of the mother and her pups.

THE STREET VETVeterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ checks on newborn puppies inside the tent of Hector Abadan, 58, left, who watches with his dog Kilo in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. “These people out here who own pets, they’re looking for a normal life, they’re trying to get on their feet, they value companionship and they need it,” Stewart said. “There are some people out here who can educate you about being a pet parent.”

THE STREET VETVeterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ checks on a newborn puppy under the watchful eye of its mother inside the tent of Hector Abadan, 58, in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023.

THE STREET VET Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ prepares a Parvo vaccine injection for the dog of a homeless woman living in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. He comes ready with medicines, vaccines, syringes and treats, offering to see the dogs and cats there on the street.

THE STREET VET Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ examines Popcorn while his owner Greg Gibson, 64, holds him in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. It’s a challenging task, Stewart admits, but a rewarding one. That’s why he has continued to make his way under freeway bridges, into tents on the sidewalks and into homeless encampments, looking for anyone with a pet.

THE STREET VETCoco gets ready to receive a treat from veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ before the doctor examines him in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. Coco is owned by Kimberly McPeters-Guzman, 56, who lives homeless in skid row. Dr. Stewart comes ready with medicines, vaccines, syringes and treats, offering to see the dogs and cats on the street.

THE STREET VETVeterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, known as, “The Street Vet,’’ enjoys a light moment with Christina Crayton, 39, after treating her dog in Skid Row in Los Angeles on January 11, 2023. “What I learned after going out all these years with Kwane is these pets are loved as much or more as [those of] housed folks,” Ian said. “I’ve seen it firsthand, that some of them will go [without food] for a night so their pet can eat, or travel long distances so their pet can get care.” He was named CNN Hero of the Year for 2024 for his work treating the animals of the homeless.