Mother's epic journey from Venezuela leads to unexpected US policy change
Venezuelan mom with toddler made dangerous trek through Panama and Mexico to reach US last year. Now Bidenʼs special status program helps thousands of migrants like her stay and work legally
Last winter Maribel Hidalgo left her homeland Venezuela with her one-year old baby: their path to a new life wasnt easy. The young mother made an exhausting multi-country trek — including dangerous walks through Panamaʼs dense Darien forest and long train rides across Mexico.
The timing worked in their favor (as they reached US before important policy updates). The Biden team made a big-time decision to give special legal status to Venezuelan migrants; this lets them stay and get work papers in America.
The special status program now helps people from many places that arent safe right now:
- Haiti
- Afghanistan
- Sudan
- Lebanon
- Other crisis-affected nations
This temporary protected status lets migrants who already made it to US soil stay here and earn money legally — its a life-changing opportunity for those who cant return home due to bad conditions
