The young Venezuelan Deibis Sequeda arrived in Washington on one of the buses chartered with irregular immigrants that Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent to the US capital in August of this year.
Sequeda has spent the last five months – since July 21 when he was admitted at the southern border – with a temporary stay permit that gives him the opportunity to request asylum.
In an odyssey that lasted several months since he left the region of Medellín, Colombia, Sequeda had to cross the Darien jungle in Panama and overcome all kinds of harassment, but he also found signs of solidarity on his way through Central America and Mexico. until they reached the southern border of the United States, told the voice of america.
“My decision was (to go to) Miami,” he said, recalling that instead he had been taken to Washington by bus, even without knowing that that would be his destination.
The bus that took him to the US capital was one of several sent with migrants to mostly Democratic states as part of a plan by the Republican governors of Arizona, Texas, Florida and other southern states to pressure the Joe Biden government, whom they blame. due to the increase in irregular migration.
Sequeda has no relatives in the US and was placed in one of the hotels converted into temporary shelters by the mayor’s office of the US capital while he managed to fend for himself.
This young man says that he has now left the hotel and is looking for a legal solution to his case, since the lack of a work permit also makes it difficult for him to solve his livelihood.
The director of the Central American Resource Center (CARCEN) in Washington, Abel Núñez, argued that the situation of Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and Cuban migrants, who are part of the regional migration problemshows the contradictions of the immigration policy of the federal government.
Núñez said that although these temporary shelters for migrants are a support, the impossibility of being able to obtain a work permit makes it difficult for them to integrate and even forces them to work informally or using false documents.
“There is no understanding between the federal government and the localities, because people live within a municipality, but immigration policy is federal, it would have been better if they had been given a one-year permit with a work permit and this would have completely changed. because when they entered they would have been able to find formal work, generate resources and pay for their own housing,” said Núñez.
The expert adds that when analyzing the historical behavior of the migratory phenomenon, it is clear that mobility patterns remain and are consolidated over time, so that when we see the massive arrival of Venezuelans or Nicaraguans this year, we can expect more in the coming years. arrivals of nationals of those countries.
a year in keys
2022 has left significant lessons for the study and understanding of the “complex migration issue” in terms of changes both in the forms of mobility, composition of migrant groups and new dynamics, he explains to VOA Ariel Ruiz, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) think tank, in Washington.
Ruiz points out that more migrants from countries on the continent are undertaking dangerous journeys through the Darien jungle with the intention of reaching the US as their main destination.
“Perhaps the most important change that we have seen this year in terms of migration is the change in the flow that has become more diverse, but at the same time more complex in the Latin American region, but also in the hemisphere as a whole and we have seen an increase of migrants from countries that were previously minors”, explains Ruiz.
This expert points out that more and more those who cross the Darién are not only Venezuelans, but also Colombians, Ecuadorians and other South American countries. Migrants from other regions of the world are also taking this dangerous route to reach the US, he added.
Sequeda, the Venezuelan migrant, said that crossing that region is high risk, not only because of the robberies he suffered in the middle of the “green desert”, but also because of other dangers. “You have to be very careful because if you fall badly in the mud and break your foot, there’s no one to help you out,” he added.
What about foster children?
Attention to unaccompanied children or minors who in 2021 were the focus of attention on the southern border has dropped, but not because they do not continue to arrive, experts agree, but because there is an infrastructure to receive and process them.
A study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and MPI presented this week concluded that when these minors are claimed by parents or relatives in the US “they lose access to critical case management, medical and mental health care and other social services” provided while in custody by the federal government.
“While local governments, post-release service providers and others offer a range of services to support these children, the transition into American communities can be difficult for these young migrants and their families because the service infrastructure and the ease of access varies from place to place,” the report explains.
The study proposes some alternatives so that these minors are not left behind and can advance in their integration process, promoting the effectiveness and vigilance of government programs after their release.
“Taking these steps will better position unaccompanied children to thrive, and the communities they join will benefit from their skills, creativity, contributions and diverse perspectives. Too often, the needs of unaccompanied children are not adequately addressed, negatively affecting their long-term well-being and development,” the study states.
The investigation indicates that some 536,000 minors who arrived at the border unaccompanied have been turned over to sponsors since fiscal year 2014. Most are concentrated in states with different approaches to the immigration issue, including Texas, California, Florida and New York. These four states would have received about 45,000 children each.
Prospects for 2023
About to close this year and open the perspective for 2023, experts do not doubt that the migratory phenomenon will continue to set trends and challenges for the authorities of the United States and other countries.
Ruiz said that by 2023 he would expect the fulfillment of the commitments assumed by the presidents of the countries that participated in the Summit of the Americas in June of this year, including the implementation of measures in domestic politics to avoid an exodus.
“2023 is going to be a difficult year. We already started with almost record levels in the last months of this year of migration to the United States, but perhaps what the year is going to decipher and how migration is going to go has more to do with the commitments of each country in the region it has set itself up,” the MPI analyst said.
The United States Border Patrol (CBP) reported 2.76 million encounters with migrants at the border in fiscal year 2022.
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