
For three minutes Marcelino Pizarro hugged family members he had not seen since he jumped the fence into the United States from Mexico six years ago.

The undocumented migrant was at an event with hundreds of other families with mixed immigration status who were reunited with relatives in a "hugs not walls" meeting arranged by an El Paso, Texas-based advocacy group, Border Network for Human Rights.

A neighbourhood is seen from a hill in Ciudad Juarez. Pizarro, 36, says he fled his homeland because of insecurity. He worked in a juvenile detention facility where he told Reuters he received death threats from inmates. A brother lost his life at the hands of an organized crime gang, he said. "It was just part of life," he said.

1 / 12 Slideshow Marcelino helps his son, Cesar at home in El Paso. Alejandra Aguilar prepares a poster to bring to the family reunification event. Marcelino holds his baby son Matias in the living room of his home. Cesar rides his bike in the backyard of the family home in El Paso, Texas. Marcelino arrives with his family to attend a church service. Marcelino reaches to touch his baby son, Matias, during a church service. Marcelino and his wife, Alejandra leave church with their children. Cars are parked outside of the renovated garage that Marcelino rents in El Paso, Texas. Cars are parked outside Marcelino's parents home in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Denisse and her sister Fatima Paola (right) walk with Aitana. Eduardo Pizarro sits on the staircase listening to his parents Ramon Pizarro and Ana Lilia Lozano as their grandson Alexis Emiliano looks at a tablet. Fatima Paola holds her daughter Aitana.

Story Pizarro has five children, two of whom live with him in El Paso where he now works odd jobs. One of his sons suffers from autism. His other children, including his 18-year-old daughter Fatima Paola, live in Mexico.

Denisse (left) and her sister Fatima Paola hold Aitana. "I would see my friends, my cousins, all with their dads and I would get sad and cry. I wish he could have been here as I grew up," said Fatima Pizarro, who now has a daughter of her own, Aitana, who her father met for the first time on Saturday.

Marcelino holds his granddaughter Aitana. At the event on the border, Pizarro and more than 300 other families all donned blue shirts, while their counterparts from the Juarez, Mexico side wore white shirts to ensure no one tried to slip across. The brief reunions are approved by U.S. government agencies since participants stay on the riverbed that marks the frontier. After speeches from the organizers, both sides rushed together for three minutes of tearful hugs, embraces and excited face-to-face conversations. "I wouldn't trade anything for these moments. We have to enjoy them as long as we can," Pizarro said as he carried his granddaughter in his arms.

Ramon poses for a photo with his taxi in an abandoned neighbourhood in Ciudad Juarez. His brother, Ramon Pizarro, 51, took the opportunity to tell the family some news: he would use his job as a taxi driver to petition for a visiting visa and be able to see his brother more often. With many other families waiting, organizers soon told them time was up, and they said their goodbyes, not knowing when they might meet again. "The hardest part is that it's over," Pizarro said. "We have to accept it, but it's hard."