Mexico warns Venezuelan migrant caravans will be turned away under new US policy

Mexico warned Venezuelan migrants on Saturday that those traveling in caravans will be ineligible for a new U.S. immigration program.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new program on Wednesday that would allow up to 24,000 Venezuelans to secure work authorization in the U.S. via sponsorship. 

However, this was coupled with the decision to expand a Trump-era immigration policy, Title 42, to allow the U.S. to expel Venezuelans who cross the border with Mexico. Venezuelans were previously not subject to Title 42 expulsions. 

The Mexican government’s National Migration Institute said on Saturday that if Venezuelan migrants want to take advantage of the sponsorship program, they should not travel in caravans or travel irregularly through Mexican territory, as they will be deemed ineligible.

“In order to avoid a risky movement and lose the opportunity of a secure entry, for the Mexican migration authority it is important that people from Venezuela know the new procedure established by the United States,” the institute said in a press release.

The new policies, which were aimed at decreasing irregular migration from Venezuela, has drawn criticism from the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) accused the policies of “eroding our asylum system that President Biden promised to restore.”