A program announced last week to expel single adult Venezuelans under the Trump era CDC Emergency COVID-19 authority is reportedly leading to family separations and confusion throughout the Western Hemisphere as migrants from that nation continue to flee north scattered in the thousands.
The program, hastily enacted last week, has seen up to 1,000 single adult Venezuelan migrants returned Mexico daily at five locations along the southwest border. Technical errors may have resulted in family separations of Venezuelan married couples in El Paso, Texas. On Friday, several migrants said they were sent back to Mexico after being separated from their husbands who were allowed to stay in the United States. According to a Reuters report, at least three women were expelled. One woman was separated from her 20-year-old son.
In Oaxaca, Mexico, up to 14,000 Venezuelan migrants are being held in a makeshift tent city, according to a report in the Associated Press. The migrants are hoping to obtain valid travel documents to resume their trek to the United States.
San Pedro Tapanatepec, Mexico, normally home to 8,000 residents, is struggling to cope with the thousands of mostly Venezuelans now in an encampment. The city’s mayor, Humberto Parrazales, says the local electrical grid cannot sustain the added population stress.
In Mexico City, one reporter met with Venezuelans stranded at a bus terminal who are unsure of next steps. Courthouse News Service met with recently expelled Venezuelans and some still moving north. News of the new program has caused confusion in both camps.
Lacking resources to return to their places of residence, many seemed exasperated by the latest immigration news.
Further south, reports indicate a new migrant caravan of mostly Venezuelans is forming in Guatemala.
One news report estimates the caravan to be roughly 2,000 strong. A spokesperson for Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei says assistance has come from only Mexico to handle the group.
In Columbia, 9,000 Venezuelans are poised to enter Panama and trek through the Darien Gap. Many also expressed confusion regarding the new policy. In a Voice of America report, some are pondering a change of route to obscure certain travel facts to better prevent their removal from the U.S.
One migrant, Christian Casamayor told VOA, concerning his route, “I stopped out of awareness and being smart … They mark your passport, and you can no longer enter the United States.”
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the exodus of more than 6 million Venezuelans since 2014 is the second largest human displacement crisis in the world.
One facet of the new plan is mirrored after the DHS Uniting for Ukraine refugee program that allows a limited, legal pathway to the United States. According to DHS, up to 24,000 Venezuelans may be eligible for admission if certain conditions are met.
To qualify for admission, Venezuelans must show financial sponsorship, have no deportations in the past five years, and cannot have entered illegally into United States, Mexico, or Panama as of the effective date of the program. Venezuelans who qualify must also fly into the United States.
For the Venezuelan migrants who have already been released into the United States, their fortune may have prompted the misfortune of their compatriots. Significant media attention shed light on the struggles some larger cities have experienced as the border crisis hit communities closer to the Washington Beltway. The arrival of buses to DC, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard highlighted the inability of the migrants to be easily absorbed into the most populous sanctuary cities in the U.S.
New York Mayor Eric Adams recently declared a state of emergency regarding the mostly Venezuelan arrivals and is constructing a soft-sided facility to ease overcrowding at homeless shelters. Some 73 percent of nearly 20,000 migrants bused to New York remain in the shelters.
In Washington, attempts by Mayor Muriel Bowser to receive federal support in the form of National Guard assistance have been denied.
In September, two chartered flights carrying nearly 50 mostly Venezuelan migrants arrived in Martha’s Vineyard and were quickly removed to Joint Military Base Cape Cod.
Although staggering, the number of mostly Venezuelan migrants sent to these cities pales in comparison to the number that arrived daily at smaller communities along the southwest border. Between October and August 2022, more than 153,000 Venezuelans crossed the southwest border. A mere 1,262 Venezuelans were recorded in 2020.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
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