Hundreds of migrants try to storm the US-Mexico border

Hundreds of people tried to storm the US-Mexico border on Sunday following rumors that migrants would be allowed to cross into the United States.

Around noon, a large crowd, mostly Venezuelans, began to gather at the entrance to the bridge connecting Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez with El Paso, Texas, in the southern United States.

Frustrated by the delays and difficulties in applying for asylum in the United States after traveling thousands of miles through Central America and MexicoSome told AFP that they thought they would be allowed entry because of the alleged “migrant’s day” celebration.

Images on social media showed a group that included many women and children running towards the border shouting “to the USA”.

USA vs. Mexican Migrants

They quickly ran into barbed wire, orange barricades, and police with shields.

According to Enrique Valenzuela, a civil society spokesman helping migrants in Juarez, US border guards “of course” moved to close the bridge.

Jackson Solis, a 23-year-old Venezuelan, was among those who came to the bridge on Sunday to see if the rumors were true.

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“We all ran, and a fence with barbed wire was put up around us. They threw tear gas at us,” he said.

Solis told AFP he has been waiting six months to try to make an appointment to apply for asylum in the United States, where he wants to work.

Appointments must now be recorded through the Customs and Border Protection mobile app, which was introduced this year, as asylum seekers had to apply in advance rather than upon arrival.

The Biden administration is hoping to stop a record flow of migrants and asylum seekers, who often make dangerous trips organized by smugglers, to enter the United States.

US-Mexico border

In January, the White House proposed expanding a controversial rule allowing border guards to turn away more potential migrants if they arrive by land.

“Don’t just show up at the border,” President Joe Biden said at the time in his speech.

Biden took office vowing to provide asylum to asylum seekers and to end the harsh detention policy for illegal crossings.

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Every month, about 200,000 people try to cross the Mexican border with the United States.

Most are from Central and South America and cite poverty and violence in their homelands when they apply for asylum.