EL PASO, Texas — A trio of Venezuelan migrants who crossed into the US illegally endured a harrowing first few days in Texas — sleeping on rainy streets and attempting to scrounge up enough money to move elsewhere for work.
Ana Gabriela Garcia, her husband and their travel companion Edgar Rodriguez recounted their first week stateside after admitting they risked all of it to leap the border illegally when Title 42 was suddenly prolonged.
“We got here illegally through a gate within the border wall,” Garcia told The Post during an interview in an El Paso church on Thursday. “We all know the risks … pros and cons, but we now have to make the sacrifice.”
The three migrants who The Post first met in Juarez, Mexico Tuesday were amongst 1000’s waiting on the Mexican border to cross into the US legally when Title 42 was imagined to end Dec. 21. They hoped to ask for asylum.
As a substitute, the federal policy that has allowed the US Border Patrol to maintain out asylum-seeking migrants, like Venezuelans, was prolonged. The extension meant migrants from Venezuela are still subject to being kicked out of the US and sent back to Mexico.
The three had to make a decision — wait until June for US courts to make a choice on the longer term of Title 42 or cross into the US illegally now. Waiting in Mexico was not an option, they claimed.
On Wednesday night, the trio snuck into the US.
Speaking in El Paso on Thursday, Garcia said she is wanting to work to send a reimbursement to her three daughters, ages 2, 6 and 9, she left behind in Venezuela.
“We have now thought … we may get deported while traveling, but we now have to try,” the migrant mom said. “We decided to make the sacrifice for them in order that they didn’t must pass though this, since it hasn’t been easy.
“Santa didn’t come this 12 months. The ladies are afraid we left them behind.”
The three have $50 saved up and are attempting to gather more cash for bus fare to either Dallas or Denver. Their illegal status means they’ll’t legally travel on planes or buses.
“We have now jobs waiting for us in Denver — we just have to have the ability to get there,” Garcia said.
Garcia suffered bruises on her feet from walking for weeks from Venezuela to the US, crossing the notorious and deadly Darien Gap and several other countries to get to the US-Mexico border.
Her travel companion, Rodriguez, said he was attacked by a monkey within the jungle and willing to do anything to get care.
“He dropped down from the trees while we sleeping and went for my foot,” Rodriguez said. “I got medical attention simply to close the wound but still must be checked out.”
The variety of illegal immigrants in El Paso will only grow now that the US Supreme Court kept Title 42 has been kept in place, El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino predicted. While town has funding to accommodate legally admitted asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, like Garcia, her hubby and Rodriguez, have nowhere to go.
Migrants who haven’t been vetted by federal authorities have now began sleeping within the streets of downtown El Paso, mixed in with legal migrants amid freezing temperatures with only blankets for warmth.
On Thursday night, Garcia, her husband and Rodriguez slept within the rain on the cold streets.
“In the event that they proceed to get in undetected, we’re going to proceed to have this population grow inside this community,” said D’Agostino.
Only the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have the legal authority to take those illegal immigrants into custody, he said.
“We’re reaching out with all our partners, our federal partners, because at the top of the day is a process, a process that everybody must follow and we really want to make this sustainable for everyone.”
The Border Patrol told The Post it’s aware of the situation, citing the arrest of illegal immigrants riding on business buses north of El Paso.
The 60 illegal immigrants who had made their way onto three buses — mixing in with legal migrants — but were stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint north of El Paso where vehicles are inspected.
The illegal migrants were sorted out and detained, Border Patrol officials said.
Additional reporting by David Meyer
