Thousands of Venezuelans face desperate gambit at US border – Times of India

EL PASO, USA: before you change yourself america border in officers step on Tuesday, juan fernandez Sent a farewell text message to his wife in Venezuela.
He then wiped his tears and accompanied a friend to the strictly enforced Customs and Border Protection (CBP).cbp) building.
“We are very scared, but we have to keep the faith,” he said.
Intimidated by drastic policy changes set to take place at the US-Mexico border this week, a 40-year-old Venezuelan illegally crossed through a gap in the border wall three days ago.
He is one of thousands of Venezuelans pouring into El Paso in the final days before Title 42 expires.
The health measure was introduced by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 to close the southern border during the pandemic.
inherited by the president Joe BidenThe measure previously exempted asylum seekers from countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
While the exemption has already been withdrawn, those nationalities still benefit from special asylum programs, such as through the CBP One mobile app.
But for the thousands waiting across the Mexican border, those programs have yielded no results, and they have decided to cross before the uncertainty of the post-Title 42 era on Friday.
Gladys Losada said, “I waited for four months to file my request, but I was ignored.”
“All the people I knew were crossing the gap. I was left behind, and I decided I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Lopez has spent the past four nights outside the Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, which has become a gathering place for thousands of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, who do not have the money to reach their final destination in the United States.
With fewer belongings, they sleep in improvised tents – plastic sheets strapped to railings – and use portable toilets set up around the church.
With Title 42 looming overnight Thursday into Friday, tensions have risen in US border cities.
CBP officers distributed leaflets early Tuesday morning urging undocumented immigrants to submit themselves.
Fernando Garcia, executive director of the non-governmental organization Border Network for Human Rights, said, “We are seeing the implementation of a very draconian policy, which surprises us greatly, because during his campaign Biden sought a more humane border policy.” had promised.”
“What we are seeing is a humanitarian crisis. We are seeing people asking for asylum and being denied. We are going to see a massive deportation policy over the next few days.”
But there is no wall or policy for migrants to stop them from trying to reach America.
“They can throw Title 42 and all these regulations at us, but the exodus is not going to end. We will keep coming because we are hungry,” said Ibor Tovar, 34, from Venezuela.
“When you’re hungry, when you’re repressed by a dictatorship, you do whatever you can to seek a better life.”
After officials visited the temporary camp in El Paso, fernandez And his friend decided to turn himself in.
His gambit inspired a couple watching in horror from the opposite sidewalk to do the same.
Three hours later, Fernandez and the couple were walking through the back door of the CBP building, carrying a “Welcome to the United States” leaflet and a form making their asylum request official.
The news spread like wildfire and within minutes, hundreds of Venezuelans were queuing up at the door of the federal agency.
“I feel happy, sad, scared,” said Jose Contreras, 21, from Venezuela. A few moments ago, he was praying on his knees on the pavement.
For others, the fear of being deported outweighed the hope of a legal passage.
“I’m afraid they’ll kick me out. I don’t want to go back to Venezuela – there’s no future there,” said a 23-year-old man, who turned and left the line.
“Some were allowed to stay, but not all of us will be so lucky.”
For Fernandez, these words ring true. He still had no word from the friend who accompanied him to the CBP station.