In picture: life of immigrants in Mexico (5)

Photo taken on Aug. 29, 2013 of Julio Romero Salas, 59, resting outside of his shack at "el bordo" in the Tijuana River canal, near the border between Mexico and the United States, in the city of Tijuana, northwestern Mexico. Julio was deported from Los Angeles, in the United States, six years ago and since he lives in the Tijuana area known as "el bordo". "I'm used to live here in the border, no problem", he said and tells the Police has stopped harassing him because of his age. However, he stills prevents to be arrested during the Police's special operations. Julio cleans shoes for a living in Tijuana's downtown and keeps in touch by the phone with his family. He says he doesn't feel the urge anymore to live in the U.S. and that in some ways he is realized as a person. On Aug. 5, local authorities started a 40 million pesos (300,000 US Dollar) investment project to clean off the garbage, soil and brushwood of the Tijuana River canal, an area commonly known as "el bordo" (the dam). Simultaneously, the Tijuana City Police iniciated an operation to evict the people living in "el bordo", mostly immigrants who where deported from the U.S. and homless people with no household alternative and usually living with drug issues. After several protests and demonstrations held by social organizations, the "human cleaning" decreased but the Police Department detentions and abuse persist against people living near or at "el bordo". According to social researchers of the College of the Northern Border (Colegio de la Frontera Norte), "Without a coordinated and oriented action that combines the efforts of the Government and society, Tijuana will remain to be acknowledged as the city wich helds no respect for the deported immigrants human rights". (Xinhua/Guillermo Arias)