the expulsion of Texas and Arizona, one more step in a long journey

In addition to the dangers of the hard journey from Latin America and exposure to inclement weather, there is now the refusal of some state governments to allow immigrants who have entered irregularly through the southern border of the United States to remain in their territory.

“We just left Venezuela, we arrived in Colombia, passing through the jungle of Panama. They did not treat us like human beings,” Venezuelan William Mijares told the voice of america this week upon arrival in Chicago.

Since April, the governors of Texas, Greg Abbott, and Arizona, Dug Ducey, began a crusade that has resulted in more than 7,500 immigrants sent on buses to Washington DC, New York and Chicago.

The entire journey has marked Mijares greatly, as his testimony reveals. “They treated us like the worst kind of people in the world and we don’t understand why, but that’s how they are considering us,” he argued in an interview with the VOA.

Abbott, who presents himself as a champion of the fight against the constant arrival of migrants in the south of the country, accuses the White House of maintaining an open border policy.

“Immigrants are flooding our state at a historic rate, thanks to President Biden’s open border policies. Texas will continue to transport immigrants until the president secures the border,” the Republican governor said recently.

In contrast, this week, the mayor of Chicago, Democrat Lori Lightfoot, has chosen to extend her arms to the migrants sent from Texas to the Windy City.

“These are human beings – moms and dads, little children, elderly people who deserve our respect and dignity – they are not burdens. […] they are human beings, just like you and me,” he said. “Governor Abbott’s racist and xenophobic removal practices have only amplified the challenges many of these immigrants have experienced on their journey to find a place of safety.”

a ceaseless flow

The Border Patrol has reported a considerable increase in immigrants, mainly along the southern border in the last few months.

“The number of migrants from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua has increased steadily, representing 37% of non-Mexican encounters from fiscal year 2022 to date, compared to 8% between 2014-2019,” the entity reported last August.

In the last five years, the humanitarian crisis unleashed in Venezuela by difficult economic and political conditions has led to more than 6 million of Venezuelans seeking refuge around the world.

_{*VOA journalist Iacopo Luzi contributed to this report from Chicago.}

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