Article author:
Reuters
Jose Torres and Lisbeth Diaz
TAPACHULA — Thousands of Venezuelan immigrants to the northbound caravan on Friday in hopes of reaching the border with the United States I left.
Many of them were waiting in the city of Tapachura for permission from the Mexican government to pass through the country without being bound by the Immigration Control Agency. However, little progress was made and some said they would seize the opportunity.
"We feel trapped here," said Venezuelan immigrant Henry Caseres. "I don't know how to do it, but I'll find a way to reach the border."
According to UN statistics, an estimated 6 million Venezuelan people have been in their home economy in recent years. Escape from collapse and anxiety. Many settled in other South American countries, but some traveled north.
According to the Mexican Refugee Assistance Commission (COMAR), Mexico received 5,516 asylum claims from Venezuelan between January and May this year.
Another person tried to enter the United States. However, according to data from the Department of Land Security, the number of Venezuelan people arrested by US authorities at the border has plummeted after the Mexican government began demanding visas from travelers from Venezuela in January.
The immigration situation is complicated as Venezuela refuses to accept transport flights from Mexico, Francisco Gardunho, director of the Mexican National Immigration Institute, told Reuters this week. Told.
"We couldn't return them because their government had no political will," he said.
The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Friday, thousands of immigrants in the caravan slowly walked. Edwin Salazar had his little daughter on his shoulder.
"I want to go to the United States," he said. (Report by Jose Torres of Tapachula and Lizbeth Diaz of Mexico City, Written by Laura Gottesdiener, Edited by Rosalba O'Brien)
