Hundreds of Venezuelans crossed the Rio Grande into the United States this weekend

Hundreds of migrants of Venezuelan origin managed to cross the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande in the US) border this Saturday at the Juarez-El Paso crossing, a natural divide between Mexico and the US, and make their way to the US border. Activists should surrender to the authorities.

In some cases, the immigrants were members of entire families, and the massive intersection could be seen from children to the elderly, with the goal of fulfilling the “American Dream.”

According to witnesses, the migrants crossed the river, and on Saturday afternoon, the largest group was about 300 people. However, throughout the day they passed in very small groups.

The efforts of the Venezuelan migrants were met with inaction by agents of the National Guard and Mexico’s National Immigration Agency, who did little or nothing to stop them.

“The phenomenon of migration is constantly changing, we ask migrants not to cross a point that is not an activated border bridge. This crossing does not favor them in any way,” said Enrique Valenzuela, general coordinator of the State Population Council (Cospo) of Ciudad Juárez.

The official said he was surprised by the massive crossing and that the company he represents “seeks to serve people regardless of the goal they want to achieve.”

In addition, he asked immigrants not to believe the information they receive from “boleros” (human traffickers), because the only thing they are looking for is to enrich themselves with the money of immigrants who want to enter the United States.

“Venezuelan immigrants crossing to surrender themselves is an example of how this system is not fixed, it’s broken and families who should be able to go (to the U.S.) legally can’t,” the director said. Fernando Garcia is executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso, Texas.

Additionally, he pointed out that the U.S. government “has not invested in shelter infrastructure and has done so in resources to bolster the Border Patrol.”

A few weeks ago, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended the Temporary Protected Status designation for immigrants from Venezuela for 18 months, starting in September.

The status, which allows immigrants from designated countries to legally reside temporarily in the United States, applies only to U.S. residents beginning in March 2021.

DHS estimates that about 343,000 Venezuelans will be eligible for protected status approved by the Joe Biden administration in March 2021.

The region is experiencing record migration flows to the United States, with more than 1.7 million people detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) so far in fiscal year 2022, which began last October.

In addition, Mexico received more than 58,000 refugee applications in the first half of 2022, an annual increase of nearly 15%, according to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR).

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