EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Several hundred people marched through the streets of El Paso on Saturday afternoon, and as they approached a group of migrants gathered outside a church, they sang “no estan solos” – “you are not alone.” “.
Human rights activists say about 300 migrants have taken refuge on the sidewalks near Sacred Heart Church, some of them afraid to seek more formal shelter amid new restrictions designed to combat illegal border crossings.
This is the stage that will meet President Joe Biden on his first politically rocky visit to the southern border on Sunday.
Last week, the president announced that Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Venezuelans would be deported to Mexico if they entered the U.S. illegally — an extension of the pandemic-era immigration policy called Section 42. 30,000 people per month from these four countries if they apply online and find a financial sponsor.
Biden is due to arrive in El Paso on Sunday afternoon and then travel to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders on Monday and Tuesday.
Dylan Corbett, head of the nonprofit Hope Frontiers Institute, said there was an “increasing atmosphere of fear” in the city.
He said immigration law enforcement has already begun increasing the number of deportations to Mexico, and he senses rising levels of tension and confusion.
The president’s new policy expands on existing efforts to prevent attempts by Venezuelans to enter the US, which began in October.
Corbett said many Venezuelans have since been left in limbo, putting pressure on local resources. He said extending the policy to other migrants would only worsen their situation on the ground.
“It’s a very difficult situation because they can’t go forward and they can’t go back,” he said. People who fail screening are unable to leave El Paso due to U.S. law enforcement checkpoints; most of them have traveled thousands of miles from their homeland and refuse to give up and return.
“There will be people who need protection,” Corbett said.
The new restrictions represent a major change to immigration rules that will remain in place even if the US Supreme Court overturns the Trump-era public health law, which allows US authorities to turn away asylum seekers.
El Paso quickly became the busiest of nine Border Patrol sectors along the U.S.-Mexico border, ranking first in October and November. Large numbers of Venezuelans began to show up in September, drawn by the relative ease of crossing the border, the reliable network of shelters and bus services on both sides of the border, and the presence of a major airport at destinations across the United States.
The Venezuelans ceased to be a major presence almost overnight after Mexico, under Section 42, agreed on October 12 to accept those who crossed the border illegally into the United States. Nicaraguans have since filled that void. Section 42 restrictions have been applied 2.5 million times to deny migrants the right to seek asylum under US and international law based on preventing the spread of COVID-19.
U.S. authorities stopped migrants 53,247 times in November in the El Paso sector, which spans 264 miles of desert in West Texas and New Mexico, but most of its activity is in the city of El Paso and suburban Sunland Park, NM . The sector’s latest monthly figure is more than three times the same period in 2021, with Nicaraguans leading by nationality by a wide margin, followed by Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans and Cubans.
Many gathered under blankets near Sacred Heart Church. The church opens its doors at night to families and women, so that not all the hundreds of people who enter this limbo have to sleep outside in the falling temperature. Two buses were available for people to warm up and charge their phones. Volunteers come with food and other supplies.
Juan Tovar was holding a Bible in his hands, he shouldered his 7-year-old daughter. The 32-year-old worked as a bus driver in Venezuela before fleeing with his wife and two daughters due to the political and financial chaos engulfing their home country.
According to him, he has friends in San Antonio who are ready to receive them. He’s here to work and educate his daughters, but he’s stuck in El Paso without permission.
“Everything is in the hands of God,” he said. “We are all human and we want to stay.”
Another Venezuelan, 22-year-old Jeremy Mejia, heard this and said he had a message he would like to send to the president.
“President Biden, I ask God to touch your heart so we can stay in this country,” Mejia said. “I ask you to touch your heart and help us migrants find a better future in the United States”
___
Layton reported from El Paso and Spagat from Yuma, Arizona. AP contributor Claire Galofaro contributed to this report from Louisville, Kentucky.
