Rosa, a Venezuelan asylum seeker, spent four months walking across almost half of the continent. She was pregnant.
Rosa is not her real name, but she told Hääle that her journey to get to the USA with her partner and the father of her child was difficult. Four times during their migration, Rosa thought she would lose her child.
The pair traversed the jungles of the uninhabitable Darien Gap, which connects Colombia and Panama, before crossing nine countries to face the complex immigration process in the United States.
“Everybody thinks that when you get to this country, you’re going to see buildings like New York,” Rosa told a VOA reporter who met with her in Washington, D.C., and Delaware.
But as the 19-year-old Venezuelan migrant arrived in Washington on one of the first 120 buses sent by Texas Republican Gov. Gregg Abbott, he said his feelings changed.
“Yes, I regret coming to the United States,” Rosa said in Spanish.
Abbott launched the program in April to protest Democratic President Joe Biden’s approach to immigration, ordering buses to escort recently arrived migrants from the southern border to the US capital. Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey followed suit in May.
At the DC bus station, Rosa told Hääle about her plans.
“Work, start fulfilling your dreams, the goals I have here,” he said.
Now living in Delaware, Rosa is in the late stages of pregnancy. Her partner, who is also from Venezuela and did not want to be identified, also said the US is not what he thought it was.
Rosa and her partner must check in weekly with US immigration officials through a smartphone app. They hope to apply for asylum. In the meantime, they are waiting for the birth of their daughter.
“It’s one thing that I’m telling this story, which is different from living it,” Rosa said, as she wonders if they can stay in the United States. “A lot of people don’t understand because they think it’s the American dream. But it’s a dream that if something were to happen to me here, it’s not worth it.
According to border officials, 207,416 people tried to cross the southwestern border in June, which is 14% less than in May. Of those, 92,274 were immediately deported from the United States under Public Health Order 42.
Immigration experts say disinformation is crucial in fueling unauthorized migration.
At the U.S.-Mexico border, immigration experts say some migrants enter the U.S. without authorization and then wait for border officials; others show up at a US port of entry and ask for help.
Immigration attorney Miriam Osorio says many have the wrong expectations. When he arrived at the border, he told Hääle that they believed the officials would “let me in… I have a work permit, I will receive benefits, and I will live peacefully in the United States. .
“It’s not so true,” he said.
Luis Paoli, who has served as deputy general counsel at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says that immigrants admitted to the country receive a document from the U.S. government, but it does not confer legal status.
Paoli said the document, known as a notice of appearance, gives migrants 30 days to register with U.S. immigration once they reach their final destination in the United States.
“And if the person doesn’t show up, the judge can issue a deportation order in absentia,” he said.
US law provides asylum to people who are persecuted in their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular group.
Although there are two types of asylum, affirmative and protective, not all asylum applications come from migrants arriving at the border. Immigrants can apply for affirmative asylum within one year of their last arrival in the United States or apply for protective asylum while fighting a deportation order.
According to the Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), immigration courts have 1.6 million cases of asylum and other immigration applications. The waiting time for an immigrant’s asylum application is about five years.
As migrants continue to arrive in Washington on chartered buses from Texas and Arizona, a recently arrived Colombian asylum seeker shared her story of the obstacles she faced after crossing the US-Mexico border.
Luis Huertas was one of more than 6,000 migrants who arrived in Washington between April and July.
Shortly after his arrival, Huertas was attacked in the nation’s capital.
“He attacked me and hit me hard,” she told the voice.
Luis said he went to a local hospital. But without documents, he did not receive immediate medical attention. His case is no exception. Local officials say that while Washington is a sanctuary city, it is overwhelmed by the flow of migrants. The mayor’s office even asked the federal government for help.
“Money, time and human resources are needed,” said Larry Villegas of the Washington Office for Human Rights, “because the D.C. government alone cannot meet this need.”
Non-profit organizations such as CARECEN have begun to help migrants arriving from Texas.
Initially, volunteers provided information, food and shelter to the migrants for three days. However, more than 140 buses have arrived in Washington from Texas and Arizona.
The demand has overwhelmed non-profit organizations.
“When people come now, because they keep coming, they find that there’s not much,” CARECEN director Abel Nunez told VOA, referring to how little free food and temporary shelters are left. “There’s less than before, and what was before wasn’t enough.”
Recently, the Biden administration directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide basic care to those arriving in Washington. But even these resources are not enough, according to advocates.
“Initially there were families who welcomed immigrants into their homes. We had a two-week shelter for a very small group, but there have never really been opportunities for immigrants to get long-term housing,” said Tatiana Laborde, executive director of SAMU First Response, to Hääle.
Luis Huertas came to the same conclusion.
“It’s impossible to get opportunities, a job, maybe a home when doors are closed to you just because you don’t have papers,” he said.
Despite the obstacles these immigrants face, about 500 migrants arrive in Washington each week with similar stories.
IRCA requires employers to certify (using Form I-9) the identity and eligibility of all hired workers within three days of employment. Forms I-9 must be retained for 3 years after employment or 1 year after termination, whichever is later.
What are the four types of immigrants?
These are the four types of immigration status in the US. This may interest you : Secretary Mayorkas Remarks on the Retirement of the Director of the United States Secret Service, James M. Murray. Immigrating to the US has four different immigration status categories that immigrants can fall into: citizens, residents, nonimmigrants, and undocumented immigrants.
How many types of immigration are there in the US? The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers four types of immigrant status.
What are the different immigration statuses?
There are many types of immigration status. As an immigrant, you may be one of the following:
- A citizen of the United States. To see also : Saint Kitts and Nevis Elections – United States Department of State. If you were born in the United States, you are a US citizen, even if you grew up in another country. …
- Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) …
- Temporary guest. …
- An undocumented immigrant.
What are the 3 main categories of immigrants?
But now, in the 1990s, I find that there are three types of immigrants: those who want an education for their children; those who want to be rich and enjoy a wealthy lifestyle; and those who want freedom. To see also : US-Pakistan health dialogue launched to deepen health sector cooperation – US Department of State.
What types of immigrants are there?
Let’s start by looking at the four types of immigration status available: citizens, residents, nonimmigrants, and undocumented. The characteristics of each status are explained below. These are people who were either born in the United States or who “naturalized” after three or five years as permanent residents.
What was one significant effect of the immigration and Nationality Act?
Content. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished the previous quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States.
What was the impact of the immigration law? The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States through a national origin quota. This quota allowed immigrant visas to be issued to two percent of the total population of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 census.
What was the impact of the Immigration and Nationality Act?
The act abolished the National Origins Formula, which had been the basis of US immigration policy since the 1920s. The act removed de facto discrimination against Southern and Eastern Europeans, Asians, and other non-Western and Northern European ethnic groups from American immigration policy.
What was the significance of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965?
The Immigration and Naturalization Act is federal immigration law. Also known as the Hart-Celler Act, the act abolished the national origin quota system, which had placed limits on the number of individuals from each country who could immigrate to the United States.
What was one significant effect of the Immigration and Nationality Act quizlet?
A key provision of the law granted amnesty to those who could establish that they had lived in the United States illegally continuously for five years, granting them temporary resident status that was convertible within 18 months to permanent residency, which five years later led to citizenship.
Why is it so hard to immigrate to the United States?
Demand from both family members and workers seeking to immigrate to the US usually exceeds the number of slots available each year. In addition, there is a maximum number of employment-based and family-sponsored priority visas that can be issued to nationals of one country each year.
Is it true that anyone can immigrate to the US? Foreign nationals who wish to immigrate to and become permanent residents of the United States must comply with US visa immigration laws and special visa application procedures. Within DHS, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for immigration matters, including naturalization.
How hard is it to come to the United States legally?
What is the easiest way to immigrate to the US?
Immediate relatives are spouses of US citizens, parents of US citizens, and unmarried minor children of US citizens. There is no limit to the number of visas available to immediate family members each year. Being the spouse of a US citizen is the fastest and easiest way to immigrate to the US.
