Cuban Migrants in Costa Rica Border Now Heading to US
It has been three months since Cuban migrants in the Costa Rica border, who are trying to find greener pastures in the U.S., have finally been flown to El Salvador. Reports say that the first group, which consists of 180 migrants from Central America, will also be traveling by bus to Guatemala.
It was a tough period for immigrants as they waited for three months to finally get a flight out of Costa Rica. However, the first group of immigrants was reportedly flown via a chartered aircraft to El Salvador, per Fox News Latino.
From there, the group will be transported through buses traveling from Guatemala to the Mexican border. From there, the immigrants will be on their own. They will be given 20-day visas in Mexico while they figure out how to enter the U.S. borders.
The news is good for some who are able to join the pilot flight in the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport. "They told me four days ago, and I still don't believe it. I didn't expect to be in the first group," said Lislenia Fernández, one of the lucky ones to join the first group. "I'm happy because I can travel with my husband."
However, for some, like Cuban national Joan Marcel, the arrangements are too steep. "You have to pay $555 dollars when you used to make it to the United States with $300, so what's humanitarian about that?" Marcel said.
"I have seen all the traps, all the ways the United States uses to make money off the migrants, thinking Cubans come with ten thousand, twenty thousand dollars," Marcel added.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reveals that once the immigrants enter the U.S. borders, they will be welcomed because of the U.S. immigration policy. The policy is actually the reason there is an outpour of Cuban immigrants trying to enter the U.S. borders, especially since Cuba has also loosened requirements to leave the country.
The publication further revealed that the Cubans who were stranded in Panama and Costa Rica arrived there through an air bridge traveling towards Ecuador.
A total of 8,000 have been stranded, 180 of which finally received the response they have been waiting for as they join the flight on Tuesday. Foreign Minister of El Salvador Hugo Martínez is wishing that the migrants will reach wherever they wish to go.
"With this action [for the Cubans], we are showing dignified treatment and respect for human rights, which are things that the administration of El Salvador's president ... is asking for our own migrants," Martinez said.
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