DHS estimates that some 343,000 Venezuelans are eligible for the protected status originally approved in March 2021.
Hundreds of migrants of Venezuelan origin crossed this Saturday through the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande in the US) border, a natural division between Mexico and the United States, at the Juarez-El Paso crossing, and managed to advance to US territory, according to activists, to surrender to authorities.
In some cases, the migrants were members of entire families and, in the massive crossing, it was possible to see from children to the elderly, all with the purpose of fulfilling “the American dream”
According to witnesses, the migrants ventured across the river and, on Saturday afternoon, the largest group was about 300 people. However, throughout the day they were crossing in more compact groups.
The attempts of the Venezuelan migrants had the inaction of agents of the National Guard and the National Migration Institute of Mexico, who did little or nothing to stop them.
«The migratory phenomenon changes constantly, we ask migrants not to risk crossing through a point that is not an enabled border bridge. This crossing is something that in no way favors them,” said the general coordinator of the State Population Council (Coespo) of Ciudad Juárez, Enrique Valenzuela.
The official said that the massive crossing surprised him and said that the institution he represents “seeks to serve the population, regardless of the destination they intend to reach.”
In addition, he asked migrants not to believe in the information they receive from the “polleros” (human traffickers), since the only thing they seek is to enrich themselves with the money of migrants who are hoping to cross into the United States.
“Venezuelan migrants are crossing to give themselves up, this is an example of how the system has not been repaired, which has been broken and those families that should pass legally (to the United States) have not been able to,” the director told Efe. executive of the Border Network for Human Rights organization in El Paso, Texas, Fernando García.
In addition, he pointed out that the United States Government “has not invested in shelter infrastructure and has done so in resources to reinforce the border patrol.”
A few weeks ago, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended the Temporary Protected Status designation for migrants from Venezuela for 18 months beginning in September.
The status, which allows immigrants from designated countries to legally reside in the United States temporarily, applies only to those living in the United States as of March 2021.
DHS estimates that some 343,000 Venezuelans are eligible for the protected status originally approved in March 2021 by the Joe Biden administration.
The region is experiencing a record migratory flow to the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has intercepted more than 1.7 million people so far in fiscal year 2022, which began last October.
In addition, Mexico received a record of more than 58,000 refugee applications in the first half of 2022, an annual increase of almost 15%, according to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar).
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