Ciudad Juárez (Mexico), May 8 (EFE).- Shelters on the northern border of Mexico are preparing for an increase in the migratory flow before the end of Title 42 of the United States this week, a milestone that many migrants perceive as an opportunity to cross.
In Ciudad Juárez, on the border with the US city of El Paso, Texas, it is estimated that more than 35,000 migrants are sheltered, with hundreds of them sleeping on the streets, where some work informally cleaning windows or selling sweets.
An example of the situation is “El buen samaritano”, a shelter that last February increased its capacity from 50 to 180 people due to the growing presence of migrants.
“It is likely that migratory flows will increase, this situation is going to become complex and probably some groups (of criminals) will take advantage to cross them illegally,” Juan Fierro, director of “El buen samaritano,” told EFE.
MIGRATION UNCERTAINTY IN MEXICO
Uncertainty at the border grows before the end next Thursday of Title 42, a measure adopted by Donald Trump (2017-2021) and later continued by President Joe Biden to expel migrants on the grounds of the covid-19 pandemic, an emergency declaration that is about to end in the US
“Tierra de oro” is another of the shelters that expect a greater entry of migrants this week, although activists still do not know for sure what changes there will be in deportations on US soil.
“We have had a visit from the IOM (International Organization for Migration), here we house 37 migrants and we are preparing for them to tell us what the process will be like when Title 42 is eliminated and between Title 8,” declared Julia Luciana. , manager of the shelter.
The activist’s suggestion is that the best way to cross into the United States is legally through the “CBP One” application to make an appointment and request asylum in that country, although migrants report that it has too many flaws.
“My recommendation is that they have patience to fix their immigration situation,” Luciana concluded.
GOVERNMENT AND MIGRANTS TO THE EXPECTATION
The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has denied that Mexico will face a greater entry of migrants before the end of Title 42.
“With the information that is being given, we think that the migratory flow will not increase, because an option is opening up, an alternative,” he declared at his morning press conference last Friday.
But desperation abounds among migrants stranded at the border, where they face obstacles in accessing legal pathways.
“I waited here (in Ciudad Juárez) for three weeks for an appointment, I entered the United States and they took away my documents. I have been returned to this city for two months and I am going to apply calmly”, said the Venezuelan Julio César Aguilar, who takes refuge in “Tierra de oro”.
While other migrants, like Franklin Castillo, also from Venezuela, see the end of Title 42 as a last chance to cross.
“As the elimination of Title 42 approaches, uncertainty grows. I tell the compañeros not to risk crossing illegally, they could be deported,” she said.
The region is facing an unprecedented migratory flow, with more than 2.76 million undocumented immigrants intercepted by the United States at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022.
Mexico has also registered an annual increase of more than 43% in the number of “people in an irregular situation” in 2022, when it detected 444,439.
