The Associated Press interviewed about a dozen migrants who recently arrived in the U.S. and agreed to share documents they received when they were released from U.S. custody while they seek asylum after crossing the border with Mexico.
Venezuelans Yeysy Hernandez, left, and Candy Cegarra speak during an interview with The Associated Press, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, in New York. – When Wilfredo Molina arrived in the U.S. from his native Venezuela, he told border agents he wanted to go to Miami but didn't have an address. They directed him to what he thought was a shelter in midtown Manhattan but turned out to be a gray office building.Molina was among 13 migrants who recently arrived in the U.S.
“We believe that Border Patrol is attempting to demonstrate the chaos that they are experiencing on the border to inland cities,” said Denise Chang, executive director of the Colorado Housing Asylum Network. “We just need to coordinate so that we can receive people properly.” in a fiscal year. In the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from 1.73 million times the year before and surpassing 2 million for the first time.
But others — including people from Cuba and Nicaragua, with which the U.S. has strained relations — are released with notices to appear in immigration court or under humanitarian parole. Those migrants must tell agents where they will live, but many can't provide an address.