Mexico Shelters Can't Accommodate More Venezuelan Migrants From US: "We Can't Take Anyone"

By BERT HOOVER First Posted: Oct 17, 2022 12:29 AM EDT

Shelters in Mexico cannot accept more Venezuelan migrants from the U.S.

Jose Maria Garcia Lara received a call asking if they could accommodate a dozen migrants who were denied asylum in their shelter.

"We can't take anyone, no one will fit," he answered.

Garcia Lara's facility is already home to 260 refugees and migrants, which is around 80 more than it can accommodate, and most have been there since it began in 2012.

The Associated Press noted that the phone call on Thursday demonstrates how the Biden administration's decision to limit asylum for Venezuelans could be a significant problem for Mexico's already overcrowded facilities.

The U.S. agreed to allow up to 24,000 Venezuelans to apply online to fly directly to the country for temporary stays. However, it also stated that any Venezuelans crossing the border illegally would be sent back to Mexico, reaching 33,000 in September alone.

According to Jeremy MacGillivray of the International Organization for Migration in Mexico, the U.S. has dispatched Venezuelans to Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Piedras Negras, and Matamoros since Wednesday.

According to the shelter director, the Rev. Francisco Gallardo, at least 120 Venezuelans came from Brownsville to Casa del Migrante in Matamoros on Thursday.

The Mexican government was providing free bus fares to Mexico City on Friday.

Mexico Warned Venezuelan Migrants Not To Travel in Caravans

The National Migration Institute of Mexico's government stated on Saturday that Venezuelan migrants who wish to benefit from the sponsorship program should avoid traveling in caravans or irregularly via Mexican territory as they will be disqualified, The Hill reported.

"In order to avoid a risky movement and lose the opportunity of a secure entry, for the Mexican migration authority, it is important that people from Venezuela know the new procedure established by the United States," the institute said in a press release.

The influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has criticized the new restrictions intended to reduce irregular migration from Venezuela.

According to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the practices are "eroding our asylum system that President Biden promised to restore."

Venezuelan Migrants in Mexico Are Protesting the U.S. Decision

Around 70 Venezuelans wearing white paint on their hands marched in chains on the Gateway International Bridge in Matamoros, a Mexican city across the border from Brownsville, Texas, pleading to be permitted to enter the U.S.

The protesters were among the first wave of deported immigrants under the new immigration regulations. They were dressed in the uniforms of the prisons where they had been housed before being deported to Mexico.

According to VOA News, some demonstrators were nearly in tears as they said that U.S. officials had lied to them because they had been in the country for ten days.

"They deceived us, saying that we were going to [the immigration office] when it was a lie (...) they didn't tell us anything either, just walk, walk," said Jonathan Castellanos, one of the Venezuelans.

An increasing number of individuals are seeking asylum in the United States as the economy of Venezuela falls.

According to the United Nations, around 6 million Venezuelans have fled their nation, with 2.4 million migrating to neighboring Colombia.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

Watch: Biden Administration Announces New Measures To Control Migration From Venezuela - From NBC News