A group of roughly 30 Venezuelan migrants were surprised to learn that they will be returned to Mexico under a new Department of Homeland Security policy announced on Wednesday.
Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins approached the migrants in Eagle Pass, Texas, shortly after they were apprehended on Thursday.
“Did you know Venezuelans will be returned to Mexico now?” Jenkins asked the group.
“We did not know anything,” one migrant said.
“Please receive us, have benevolence with Venezuela, because we are in need,” another migrant told Jenkins.
Other migrants said they “have nowhere to go to in Mexico” and that the country “is dangerous.”
The Biden administration announced a new border enforcement operation with Mexico that includes a parole program to provide a legal pathway for Venezuelans.
The program, capped at just 24,000 people, requires Venezuelans to have a financial supporter in the U.S., pass security screenings and complete basic health requirements.
“These actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said about the program on Thursday. “Those who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States illegally will be returned to Mexico and will be ineligible for this process in the future.”
The new border enforcement operation will also increase checkpoints at the southern border and crack down on human trafficking operations.
Customs and Border Protection reported more than 25,000 encounters of Venezuelan migrants at the border in August, up from about 6,000 encounters in August of last year.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
