In the city of Reynosa, located on the border of Tamaulipas, the Christmas season was marked by an act of remembrance and demand. Families of missing persons transformed a Christmas tree into a collective reminder of their absence, placing ornaments with the faces of those who have not returned home, in a symbolic action known as the Tree of Hope. The activity was organized by the Love for the Disappeared Collective under the slogan "Without them there is no Christmas," with the aim of highlighting the impact of disappearances during the holiday season. For mothers, fathers, and siblings, these holidays arrive with empty chairs and unanswered questions, so the act sought to keep alive the demand for truth and justice. According to information published by El Sol de Tampico, the families gathered in the main square, from where they marched toward the city center, ending in front of the municipal palace. During the march, they carried banners, photographs, and messages addressed to their missing loved ones. In testimonies reported by the weekly magazine Proceso, the president of the collective, Edith Gonzalez, explained that the tree represents the hope that persists despite the pain. She noted that in Tamaulipas, more than 13,000 people have disappeared and warned that forced disappearances have increased in recent months, making it urgent to rethink search and investigation strategies. During the placement of the ornaments, each name was spoken aloud as an act of resistance. The families agreed that no celebration is possible while the absence continues, but affirmed that sharing their pain strengthens their struggle and prevents the cases from being forgotten. The group also used the day to demand that authorities provide more personnel and funding for the processing and identification of human remains in custody, as well as the immediate activation of search protocols when a disappearance is reported.

The mothers searching for their missing loved ones denounced that, in many cases, the burden of the investigation falls on the families themselves due to a lack of institutional resources. They pointed out that this situation deepens the emotional toll and delays the location of the victims.

The Pine of Hope has been set up in Reynosa for the past five years as a pre-Christmas ritual. Each ornament placed symbolizes an absence in a home and the promise to never stop searching. For the families, the tree is not only a symbolic act, but also a way of remembering that, as long as there are missing persons, the celebration remains incomplete in Tamaulipas.