Venezuelan migrants those being pushed out by a new policy, which was implemented by the Biden administration last week, say they feel betrayed by both the United States and Mexico after they were pushed back to Mexico and given a deadline 15 days to obtain a visa or leave the country. .
The Biden administration recently announced a new combined plan border operation with mexico, which includes expanding deportations under the Title 42 public health order to include Venezuelans, whose numbers have soared in recent months. The order allows for the rapid removal of migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration has sought to end the order but in this case is expanding its use.
The cooperation between the two countries means that Mexico will accept Venezuelan citizens for the first time under Title 42. From there, Mexican authorities place the migrants on buses and transport them away from the border, further into the interior of Mexico.
The migrants who spoke to Fox in Mexico City, where hundreds had gathered at an immigration office, said they felt they had been duped on both sides of the border and were unsure what to do next. Immigrants have been given 15 days to obtain a visa or leave the country entirely.
“They lied to us, everything has been a lie,” a migrant, Elianny Navazs, told Fox News. “They told us that they were going to take us to a shelter, but they left us in the middle of the street at 4 in the morning at the back of a bus station.”
“I agree with what President Biden is doing, however, I was already in the United States and they took me to a holding cell,” said Luis Raúl Conde. “They did not treat us well. And to my President Biden, well I would be when I am allowed to be in the US, I will vote for him, I want him to let us stay and be productive citizens and pay my taxes. .”
Many of the Venezuelan migrants do not want visas in Mexico because they feel that would hurt their chances of applying for asylum in the US if officials find out they already have status in Mexico.
Despite the new surge in Title 42 use, illegal crossings don’t appear to be slowing, as the Fox News border crew saw more than 500 migrants cross Wednesday in Eagle Pass, Texas, before dawn, including a group of approximately 300 migrants. The group was made up of mostly single adults.
In the Del Rio sector, there were nearly 10,000 illegal crossings in the past week alone. In August, there were more than 200,000 encounters with migrants across the border. Numbers have not yet been released for September.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATOR ANNOUNCES BORDER OPTION WITH MEXICO, INCREASED REMOVALS OF VENEZUELANS
Meanwhile, there were more than 25,000 meetings of Venezuelan migrants in August, compared to 4,000 in April. That’s a dramatic increase from August of last year, when there were just over 6,000 encounters with migrants from Venezuela. It is this surge in numbers coming from the authoritarian regime that has prompted the Biden administration to act.
The new measure to extend Title 42 to Venezuelans was accompanied by the announcement of a new password program to provide a legal pathway for up to 24,000 Venezuelans to enter the US by air.
The program requires Venezuelans to have a supporter in the US to provide financial and other support, pass biometric and security screenings, and complete public health requirements that include vaccinations. It is similar to a program announced earlier in the year to eligible Ukrainians.
Nationals would not be eligible for the program if they have previously been deported, crossed into the US or Mexico illegally after Tuesday, or have residency or refugee status in a country other than Venezuela. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the program will stop if Mexico stops accepting returns from Venezuelans.
“These actions make it clear that there is a legal and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and legal entry is the only way.” Homeland security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “Those who attempt to illegally cross the southern border of the United States will be returned to Mexico and will not be eligible for this process in the future. Those who follow the legal process will have the opportunity to safely travel to the United States and become eligible. to work here.”
However, despite the parole program, the expansion of Title 42 has annoying immigration activists and some Democrats, who have accused the Biden administration of expanding a Trump-era program they say denied people their right to seek asylum in the US.
Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., praised the administration’s legal path, but slammed the administration for expanding Title 42, a move he called “inexcusable.”
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“Expanding Title 42 to include Venezuelans now adds insult to injury while further eroding our asylum system that President Biden promised to restore,” he said in a statement.
Republicans, meanwhile, also criticized the announcement, with House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko calling the move a “cynical and inadequate attempt to ‘address’ the unprecedented crisis at the border.” southwest of which this administration has completely lost control.
