A large group of Venezuelan migrants appeared distressed, tearful and panicked at the Mexican border in Tijuana on Thursday – hours after the incident President Biden announces they will be deported from the USA.
Photographs of the migrants were taken at the El Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, shortly after Mexico accepted the deported Venezuelans by the Biden administration.
A few women seem to be making a fuss for attention while holding their belongings, including paperwork and water bottles. A few young men are also seen raising their arms.
“We are in despair, we have been through a lot,” Yair Andrade, who came to Tijuana via Central America with his wife and children, told Reuters.
“We still don’t know how to get into the program. We can’t go back to Venezuela, we don’t have anything there right now,” he said.
The Biden administration took a U-turn in its “catch-and-release” policy that allowed tens of thousands of asylum seekers to remain in the United States during lengthy legal proceedings, and reinstated a Trump-era rule, Title 42. To deport Venezuelan migrants arriving at Mexico’s southern border as part of an agreement reached on Wednesday.
As part of the deal, the United States will grant humanitarian access to 24,000 Venezuelans via air travel if they have a sponsor in the states. No details were given on what Mexico would gain from the deal.
Republicans quickly seized the timing of the policy change that came weeks before the midterm elections, describing it as a stunt.
“Biden is more concerned with performative politics and his party’s midterm chances than saving lives,” said Will O’Grady, spokesman for the Republican National Committee. Washington Auditor.
“There is no quick fix to this problem – but new leadership will be a solid start,” he added.
The US has no diplomatic ties with Venezuela, and Mexico has previously refused to accept Venezuelans from the US because their homeland does not accept them back. The country has said it will now accept migrants “temporarily” to help alleviate problems on its southern border.
The United States has seen an influx of immigrants as political turmoil and economic instability led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have plagued the South American country.
The new plan got off to a rough start. When the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, tried to execute Biden’s order, Mexican authorities refused to accept them. Republican Texas Representative Tony Gonzales told The Post.
Regarding the incident in Texas on Wednesday night, Gonzales said, “Border Patrol worked with Mexican authorities to send about 100 people, and Mexico promptly sent them back.” Said.
“They basically said we didn’t have the logistics and infrastructure to deal with these people… it was a huge failure,” he added.
On Thursday, Venezuelan immigrants stranded on the Mexican border fear they will never reach the United States.
Two American officials told Reuters that up to 1,000 Venezuelans a day could be deported to Mexico under the new agreement.
About 300 Venezuelans were deported on Wednesday after the deal was announced, they said, and spoke on condition of anonymity.
with post wires
