Thousands of Venezuelan migrants were expelled to Mexico from the United States under a new policy. The United Nations (UN) has expressed concern over overcrowded shelters leaving families without a place to stay.
Since the new policy was enacted last week, more than 3,000 Venezuelans have been returned to Mexico, as migrants protested the measure on several major border crossings.
Under a plan announced last Wednesday, 24,000 Venezuelans would be allowed humanitarian access to the U.S. to the U.S. by plane. Still, simultaneously U.S. officials are now allowed to expel any Venezuelan migrant crossing the border.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM, UN Migration) will work with local governments to increase shelter availability in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana. These places are already overwhelmed by the influx of migrants from different nationalities.
“It’s very concerning to see people who are outside the shelters, there’s no space,” she said. Adding that families with vulnerable people, including pregnant women, single mothers, and sick individuals, were being expelled.
According to local officials, Ciudad Juarez, next to El Paso, has taken the most migrants, with over 1,000 people, followed by Tijuana, opposite San Diego, with close to 700.
In Ciudad Juarez, several people were protesting. A group of young girls held a sign that read: “President Biden, we crossed the Darien jungle to see our father,” in reference to the dangerous, often deadly route between Colombia and Panama often taken by Venezuelans traveling to the United States on foot.
Venezuelan migrant Franklin Pajaro claims he was sent to Ciudad Juarez on Monday along with his wife and two children without food, clothing, or money after spending six days in U.S. detention.
“They left us on the street. There are many families like us, and we’re suffering,” he expressed as his four-year-old son Saul wiped tears from his father’s eyes.
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