Venezuelans are increasingly stuck in Mexico, explaining drop in illegal crossings to US
An immigration crackdown in Mexico has hit Venezuelans especially hard
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan migrants often have a quick answer when asked to name the most difficult stretch of their eight-country journey to the U.S. border, and it's not the dayslong jungle trek through Colombia and Panama with its venomous vipers, giant spiders and scorpions. It's Mexico.
“In the jungle, you have to prepare for animals. In Mexico, you have to prepare for humans,” Daniel Ventura, 37, said after three days walking through the Darien Gap and four months waiting in Mexico to enter the U.S. legally using the government's online appointment system, called CBP One. He and his family of six were headed to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, where he has a relative.
Mexico's crackdown on immigration in recent months — at the urging of the Biden administration — has hit Venezuelans especially hard. The development highlights how much the U.S. depends on Mexico to control migration, which has reached unprecedented levels and is a top issue for voters as President Joe Biden seeks reelection.
