What Christmas Celebrations Look Like at Asylum-Seeker Camps (Photo Essay)

Santa made pre-Christmas stops at two of the main asylum-seeker camps, Benito Juarez and El Barretel, an outdoor sports complex now holding approximately 2,700 migrants. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

At the Benito Juarez camp, basic necessities for the women like toothpaste and soap and candy for the children were delivered to those who were still living on the street in tents. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Many of the families at Benito Juarez moved into a vacant building. There is no heat and little electricity. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

A family brings a Christmas tree to their tent. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

The police turned on their headlights, helping illuminate an otherwise dark candy giveaway. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

The donations were purchased and distributed by a group of Water Protectors, who had fought the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, N.D., and had come to help those in need at the border in Tijuana. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Santa greets the children. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

The Christmas tree inside the building at Benito Juarez. Tents fill both floors of the building. Approximately 750 migrants still reside there. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Singing “Feliz Navidad.” (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Santa gives a child a lift. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Posada is a ritual re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging in Bethlehem, performed just before Christmas. At a news conference inside El Barretal, asylum seekers staged this Posada as a protest, asking for better security and for donations to be delivered more quickly. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

In certain sections of the camp, there are no photos allowed for security reasons. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Santa distributes candy to a woman who has set up her own shop inside El Barretal. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Santa distributes candy. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

(Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

After visiting the children first, Santa went to an open area of the camp, where dozens came to receive candy. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Candy goes airborne. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

(Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

(Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

No candy left. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

High-fives and chanting “Si se puede” (“Yes, we can”). (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

Santa. Water Protector. Activist. Doug McClean from Yonkers, New York. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)