Thousands of Venezuelan migrants have jammed the border between Mexico and the United States in recent days, mainly in Juárez-El Paso, where more than 600 have crossed the Rio Grande daily in the last week, according to the Border Patrol.
The massive crossing of people began on September 10, when the extension of the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) in the United States for migrants from Venezuela came into force, which protects them from deportation and allows them to obtain work permits.
Migrants crossing from Ciudad Juárez into El Paso, Texas, await help from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, who have set up a makeshift processing center next to the Santa Fe International Bridge.
With this massive influx of people, local associations fear a new humanitarian crisis in Ciudad Juárez.
“I come with 26 members of my family, we are divided, some are already arriving in Ciudad Juárez. We are looking for a better economic and health opportunity. For me, Venezuela is the most beautiful country, but the economic situation we have with the president [Nicolás Maduro] it’s hard,” Norma Elizaria told the EFE agency.
Faced with overcrowding in shelters, some people in the Pasta region set up tents and portable toilets outside the bus station.
Dozens of undocumented immigrants sleep in a makeshift camp set up by authorities along the El Paso highway.
Food is also a challenge for migrants, with US authorities only giving them water, with people traveling to Ciudad Juárez to buy food and returning to El Paso.
The situation at the border has worsened since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that it would extend the validity of TPS permits for Venezuelans.
Andy Rojas left Venezuela 30 days ago and is now waiting for an opportunity after crossing Mexico, where he says he has faced mistreatment by immigration authorities.
“I come with a co-worker and I want to be able to work in the United States. In Mexico, a lot of people were extorted,” she said.
Fernando García, director and founder of the Border Network for Human Rights, warned that “it is clear” that there is a “crisis”, because there is no “infrastructure to receive migrants”, but asked that this not be seen as a problem. of insecurity. .
“El Paso is one of the safest cities in the United States, the problem is that when we say that migration is a public security issue, we immediately qualify them as criminals who come to do harm,” García told Efe.
Father Javier Calvillo, director of the Casa del Migrante in Ciudad Juárez, explained, however, that “Venezuelans have immigration permission to freely cross into Mexico for seven or even ten days.”
“So far in the shelter we do not have people from that country, they are of other nationalities, including Mexicans, as well as Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans,” he said.
The current situation is a reflection of the record migratory flow to the United States that the region is experiencing.
Source: Observadora
