Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, December 26.—Dozens of Haitians have arrived in Ciudad Juárez, alone or in small groups, attempting to quickly cross into El Paso, Texas, and surrender to the Border Patrol, seeking political asylum in the United States.
One, identified as Joseph, crossed the Rio Grande on Saturday morning , despite warnings that it is contaminated with sewage, along with 10 other people, in the area known as the Black Bridge, where the train passes.
Joseph rolled his pants up over his knees and carried a five-year-old girl on his shoulders, while his wife carried suitcases. Before leaving, he said they were fleeing the violence of their government and criminals, and that they'd rather be detained by "los migras" than in Haiti; at least the 10 who made the attempt reached the riverbank on the U.S. side, he commented.
They took out a towel, dried themselves, put on socks and sneakers, and walked to the gap where the patrol cars circulate to turn themselves in, although they pass by two or three times without paying attention to them. After being detained, they are sent to the authorities' facilities, where they will decide whether they are returned under the Migrant Protection Protocols or under Title 42 of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jean, Joseph's wife, said that hundreds of Haitians have arrived in Mexico and were in Chile, from where it took them four months to reach Tapachula, Chiapas, where they stayed for a few weeks before heading to Juárez.
Meanwhile, a group of 39 migrants of various nationalities, including six children, who arrived in Ciudad Juárez last Thursday in a passenger bus rented by the federal government, are now in a municipal shelter.
The migrants traveled to this border from Mexico City and are part of a caravan seeking to cross into El Paso, Texas, to request political asylum . They were part of a caravan that departed from Tapachula, Chiapas, about five weeks ago.
