Step.
After ending a long wait that took some up to two years in shelters in Mexico, 25 asylum seekers were Protocol for the protection of migrants (MPP) entered the United States through the Santa Fe International Crossing, in El Paso, a border town of the state of Texas.
Most of them are adults, but also about 10 children crossed the bridge one by one, accompanied by staff from the Migration Institute of Mexico and representatives of the United Nations (UN), who in turn handed them over to the custodians of the Immigration and Customs of the United States and then they were quickly processed and driven to two trucks waiting for them on the American side.
Under the organization of the UN Agencies for Refugees (UNHCR) and Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN has provided support to the US government in Mexican Territory in terms of logistics, transfers, document ordering, and Covid-19 testing required for applicants to enter the United States.
“There are no words, the joy of the day, to start with them in the morning and see them now as they have crossed is a great honor,” said Melissa López, executive director of Diocesan Services for Migrants and Refugees. who was part of the organizers of the transfer.
The vulnerability in their countries of origin such as Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela, among others, caused the migration to eventually cross from Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua, Mexico to a US-side refuge managed by Casa Anunciación, an organization that offers hospitality to immigrants and refugees since 1978 in West Texas.
Of the approximately 69,000 asylum seekers who participated in the program in which they pledged to stay in Mexico to access the United States later, only about 25,000 would have remained on the Mexican side of the border and the rest would have returned to their country . of origin, mainly because of the desperation caused by the interruption of procedures and the closure of government offices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
And they are the ones who entered the country in small groups, first through the Tijuana-San Ysidro border, then through Matamoros and Brownsville, finally making way for income through Juárez and El Paso
“These people were not in detention; these people have been processed more than once, ”says Linda Rivas from Las Américas. Support center for migrants
According to the IOM, migrant refugee crossings under the MPP will continue next Monday, March 1 in the El Paso area and the number of refugees hosted by the United States will gradually increase each day.
“We know the groups start with 25 people, we know they will increase and we are ready for that. Hopefully it will be soon, because people can no longer wait in these very difficult circumstances and with a lot of suffering, ”added Rivas.
The associations involved in this initial reception of immigrants who stayed indoors Mexico While the requirements of the US authorities were met, they celebrated the event, calling February 26, 2021 a historic day for the country and the West Texas region.
“Little by little we are restoring asylum in the United States,” said Rivas, moved, emphasizing the dignity with which the migrants were received with a speedy process and thus able to move to the shelter where they will be treated with the greatest. . possible conveniences before taking another trip to the cities where their relatives are waiting for them.