In less than a week, at least 600 illegal migrants from Venezuela have come across the border to the small city of Del Rio, Texas.
Del Rio, population 35,000, is a city in south-central Texas, about 150 miles west of San Antonio. Because it sits opposite Ciudad Acuna in the Mexican state of Coahuila, one of the few Mexican border towns not run by the cartels and therefore considered relatively safe, the Del Rio area is a favorite border crossing spot for Haitians, Cubans, Central Africans, and other foreign nationals.
During the past week, on almost a daily basis, Del Rio has experienced large influxes of migrant Venezuelans, most of whom consisted of family units.
- On Friday, April 16, the Border Patrol apprehended 167 Venezuelans.
- On Sunday, 112 were apprehended.
- Monday saw 106.
- And on Wednesday another 200 came across and were apprehended.
The Biden administration has been especially warm toward Venezuelans. Last month, it granted, for 18 months, Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals already resident in the United States. That designation prevents their deportation as long as it is active. Historically TPS can be renewed over and over, sometimes for years. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in support of the designation said:
The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens, it is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crises.
Though the recent migrants are not officially covered by TPS, critics believe that such actions function as a pull factor, encouraging illegal immigration from those countries that have been designated. Interviews with some of the recently arrived Venezuelans bear this out, with many of them directly citing Biden’s suspension of deportations as the inspiration for their illegal trek.
To temporarily house these and other migrants that are expected to follow, the government recently opened a new tent facility–one of nine along the border–near Del Rio. After their release, most of the 600 are expected to be allowed to pursue their asylum claims somewhere in America.
For more, see Breitbart News.