Haitians heading to US change plans, ready to wait in Mexico

MONTERREY – Violene Marseille, her hubby and 2 children were connected a autobus heading northbound done cardinal Mexico erstwhile they received messages informing them their destination connected the U.S.-Mexico borderline was nary longer a harmless spot to cross.

Other Haitians already successful Ciudad Acuña and Del Rio, Texas were telling them the U.S. was flying radical backmost to Haiti. That Sunday, much than 320 radical were sent Port-au-Prince connected 3 flights.

Stepping disconnected their autobus successful the bustling presumption of the bluish concern and proscription hub of Monterrey, Marseille spotted Mexican migration agents and hurried to the Casa INDI migrant shelter. A travel they had started much than 2 months earlier successful Santiago, Chile was implicit for now, little than 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the U.S. border.

As U.S. authorities moved retired the past of the much than 14,000 migrants gathered beside a borderline span successful Del Rio, thousands of different Haitians who were en way to the borderline from South America were realizing their clip model to marque it to the United States had closed. So now, arsenic they person done before, they are looking to legalize their presumption successful the countries they find themselves in, get enactment and hold until the adjacent accidental to erstwhile again caput north. Most are successful Mexico.

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“We spent $4,000, our full savings, to marque it to the United States, but present with what is happening successful the United States, it’s amended we enactment present successful Monterrey” successful Mexico, Marseille said. “We privation to work.”

Marseille arrived successful Santiago, Chile successful 2016 looking for amended opportunities than she recovered successful Haiti. Haiti has experienced a monolithic outward migration for much than a decade, acceptable disconnected initially by the devastating 2010 earthquake and followed by successive earthy disasters, governmental turmoil and economical stagnation.

Marseille legalized her presumption successful Chile — she inactive has ineligible residency — and recovered a occupation with a cleaning institution that worked successful hospitals. She had been a hairsbreadth stylist successful Haiti and her hubby John Telisma is simply a mason. In Chile, they settled successful to work, prevention and rise their family, but yet making it to the United States was the goal.

A blimpish authorities successful Chile made them consciousness little unafraid and Marseille saw argumentation changes she thought could negatively interaction them down the roadworthy adjacent with their ineligible status.

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So successful July, she decided it was clip to resume the travel to the U.S. They acceptable retired connected a voyage by plane, autobus and ft that took them done 10 countries, pursuing instructions shared by others via WhatsApp and Facebook.

Like tens of thousands of different migrants this year, they hiked done the treacherous Darien Gap, a dense, lawless jungle that divides Colombia and Panama.

“On the travel they stole my wedding ring,” Marseille said. “I saw however they assaulted girls and women, it was horrible.”

The household — Marseille, Telisma, a 3-year-old lad calved successful Chile and an 8-year-old girl calved successful Haiti — was already good into Mexico, headed northbound from the capital, erstwhile the quality from Del Rio forced a alteration of plans.

“We don’t privation to instrumentality to Haiti, there’s nary authorities there,” Telisma said. He fills his days volunteering astatine the shelter, helping to unload nutrient and different donations. “We privation papers, documents to beryllium capable to get a spot to unrecorded here.”

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Those papers could beryllium agelong successful coming. Mexico’s exile bureau has been overwhelmed and is backlogged. So acold this year, astir 19,000 Haitian migrants person requested asylum successful Mexico. The agency’s director, Andrés Ramírez said this week via Twitter that the fig of Haitian applications done August this twelvemonth was 56% supra each those received from 2013 to 2020. He said hundreds had arrived this week to each of the agency’s offices crossed Mexico.

Mexico has been sending migrants from Ciudad Acuña to the confederate metropolis of Tapachula adjacent the Guatemala borderline this week. The authorities has maintained what is simply a fundamentally a containment argumentation that seeks to support asylum seekers successful confederate Mexico and distant from the U.S. border. But it is Mexico’s poorest region, determination is small enactment and migrants person grown bushed of waiting there.

There were agelong lines of mostly Haitian migrants extracurricular the exile agency’s offices successful Mexico City this week.

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Marseille’s household was among immoderate 1,500 Haitians who person arrived astatine the structure since Sunday. They person been told officials from the exile bureau volition travel to the structure Monday to photograph applicants.

Ana Estache, 43, who was travelling with her hubby and 2 children, said she had adjacent considered returning to Chile.

“I could spell backmost if they don’t springiness america papers here, my lad is Chilean,” she said. Still she said she had not fto spell of the imagination of getting to the U.S. for a accidental astatine a amended life.

Selomourd Menrrivil, 43, of Cap-Haitien, has continued receiving regular updates each week from different Haitians successful Del Rio and Ciudad Acuña. He excessively arrived Sunday with his woman and 2 teen daughters. The bottommost line: don’t travel now. So helium excessively wants to legalize his presumption successful Mexico.

After surviving and moving successful Chile helium managed to prevention $10,000, but helium has spent it each to marque it to Monterrey.

“Now we don’t person hardly anything, we sold everything to marque it here,” Menrrivil said. “The top privation I person to beryllium capable to beryllium legally successful a state with my family, find a occupation to survive.”

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