Venezuelans fret over new U.S. border plan, saying 'we're stranded'

Record ID: 1693183

  • Title: Venezuelans fret over new U.S. border plan, saying 'we're stranded'
  • Date: 14th October 2022
  • Summary: CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (OCTOBER 13, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING BY RIO GRANDE AND BORDER WALL ON THE U.S. SIDE BORDER BRIDGE LINKING CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, AND EL PASO, TEXAS MIGRANTS WALKING BY BORDER WALL MEXICAN AND U.S. FLAG VARIOUS OF DEPORTED MIGRANTS WAITING AT MEXICAN IMMIGRATION STATION SIGN READING (Spanish): “Ministry of Governance. INM (National Migration Institute)” VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS AT MIGRATION STATION PATIO (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DEPORTED VENEZUELAN MIGRANT, LEONESI CASTILLO, SAYING: “I entered the United States. They (border patrol) brought us back with no response. They registered our fingerprints, took our pictures and then sent us back through the bridge, like saying, ‘go back home again'. They didn’t say anything. They requested that we have a relative who has been living there (U.S.) for over four or five years. It’s unfair. We want a response. We’re in Mexico, we have run out of money, we have had our bags stolen, shelters don’t take us in. We’re stranded in the street. Nobody wants to help us.” MIGRANTS WAITING AT IMMIGRATION STATION VARIOUS OF DEPORTED VENEZUELAN MIGRANT YADISMAR WAITING AT CENTRE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DEPORTED VENEZUELAN MIGRANT, YADISMAR, SAYING: “We’re in the street looking to find a way to get accepted to the program or see what to do, because how are we going back if we don’t have (money) to pay for a place to stay?” VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING BY BORDER WALL U.S. FLAG SIGN MARKING BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE U.S. AND MEXICO
  • Embargoed: 28th October 2022 01:06
  • Keywords: Alejandro Mayorkas Mexico Migrant Migration United States Venezuela
  • Location: CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO / WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  • City: CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO / WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001218013102022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Venezuelan migrants stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday (October 13) are worried they might never reach the United States, after a bilateral deal this week sought to put a lid on a recent sharp increase in crossings by the South Americans.
    Under the plan announced Wednesday (October 12), Washington will grant up to 24,000 Venezuelans humanitarian access to the United States by air, while enabling U.S. officials to expel to Mexico those caught trying to cross illegally by land.
    To qualify for the programme, applicants must have U.S.-based sponsors, and would enter by air. They must not go to the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico's government said.
    Before Wednesday (October 12), Venezuelans who crossed illegally into the United States were often allowed to stay because it was difficult to send them back to Venezuela or Mexico. Many are seeking asylum.
    Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have left their troubled homeland for Mexico this year to get to the United States. Many others remain en route, and the new plan's entry quota has fueled concern it could spark a humanitarian crisis.
    Up to 1,000 Venezuelans per day could be expelled to Mexico under the new agreement, two U.S. officials told Reuters. Some 300 Venezuelans were expelled on Wednesday after the deal was announced, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden also considered including Cubans and Nicaraguans in the new border management plan, two other U.S. officials said.
    U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Yadismar, a pregnant young Venezuelan, was in tears after being expelled with her husband from El Paso, Texas, into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
    A U.N.-backed report this week showed that some 4.3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean lack basic services, food and formal employment.
    (Production: Josue Gonzalez, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Anna Portella)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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