‘What if we stay in Mexico?’ With chances in the US dashed, migrants make new lives south of border

The plan had perpetually been to seek asylum in the U S But somewhere on the journey between their home in El Salvador and the northern Mexico dividing line Wilver Arteaga and his family realized there was no way The strong rhetoric around President Donald Trump s immigration policies was becoming reality and on his first day in office he shut down the legal appointment process for transients to be screened for asylum Arteaga and his wife used to be measure guards They were rule-followers It was time to come up with a backup plan They are now among the nearly refugees or asylum seekers living in Baja California the majority of them in Tijuana Wilver Arteaga comforts his -year-old son while walking back to a shelter on April in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune When that legal option was no longer available I resigned myself he stated Tijuana has inevitably been a place of waiting for displaced persons It s one of the main entry points to the U S for thousands arriving at the U S -Mexico margin a great number of of whom are seeking asylum However faced with increasingly severe roadblocks to navigating into the U S whether legally or illegally the sprawling limit city has lately become a place to call home From January to May people filed for asylum in Baja California according to content shared by the Baja California office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The largest monthly jump in applications took place from January to February nearly tripling from to following the Trump administration s shutdown of the CBP One asylum appointment process Under the Biden administration this step was required for asylum seekers to legally present themselves for screening at a U S port of entry Tijuana is an appealing place for asylum seekers and refugees noted Dagmara Mej a head of the UNHCR office in Baja California and Sonora There are jobs available and the pay is good People also say that they don t feel discriminated against here and there s a solid setup of people who have settled here and spread the word There are also challenges including a monthslong waiting period to process asylum alleges expensive housing difficulties earning a living as an undocumented worker and high crime A great number of explained they have accepted their new reality Latest news from the U S of stepped-up immigration raids and calls from the Trump administration to self-deport only validates the decision to try to make a go of it in Mexico Wilver Arteaga walks with his son to speak with a lawyer in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune Majority of the nearly asylum seekers arriving in Mexico last year came from Honduras Cuba Haiti El Salvador and Venezuela according to an April UNHCR statement More than half broadcasted leaving their home countries due to violence insecurity or threats Returning home is not an option for countless Navigating challenges The Arteaga family had made it to the state of Coahuila when they decided to stay in Mexico They heard wages were higher in Tijuana so the couple and their -year-old son decided to try their luck there Within two weeks of arriving at the Casa del Migrante shelter in Tijuana Arteaga realized that finding an affordable place to live would not be easy Rents are through the roof he announced Mej a from the UNHCR commented that asylum seekers usually settle in the Zona Centro area or in eastern Tijuana urban areas where rents are more affordable Arteaga was baffled to discover that a great number of landlords in Tijuana charge rent in U S dollars instead of pesos The apartments he inquired about near the shelter ranged from to per month or more in rent He thought he uncovered a possibility in a southeastern Tijuana neighborhood a two-bedroom house renting in pesos But on the way to check it out with his son their Uber driver strongly recommended they look elsewhere The neighborhood was not safe he reported them That s when Arteaga realized he had lots more to learn about the city Clothes hang to dry at Iglesia Embajadores de Jesus shelter on April in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune Juan Antonio del Monte a professor and researcher of cultural studies at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana stated that residents safety is one of the biggest issues not only for immigrants but for all residents Becoming part of Tijuana involves facing the city s challenges he explained The latest National Urban Inhabitants Safety Survey which is conducted in Mexico on a quarterly basis indicates that of adult residents in Tijuana feel unsafe Lingering anti-immigrant discrimination which boiled over in with the arrival of Central American caravans in Tijuana has also been a concern Del Monte disclosed that expatriates often tell him during their conversations that they have discovered their angels people who lend them sponsorship but that certain also face particular form of discrimination or xenophobia Tijuana and its residents are hospitable and that should be recognized he explained But we must also acknowledge that particular people openly express anti-immigrant sentiments Soraya V zquez deputy director for Al Otro Lado a binational organization that provides legal aid to newcomers noted how the situation has changed over the years There will invariably be people against immigration she mentioned But that doesn t mean it s a widespread or prevailing attitude in the city Finding acceptance Jos Hern ndez who fled persecution in Guatemala as a gay man has identified Tijuana to be a refuge a land of plenty of colors he says There is a lot of diversity There are a large number of nationalities he commented I feel accepted here Even before Trump returned to office Hern ndez had struggled daily to secure an appointment through the CBP One app The stress was too much to bear In October he decided to stop trying He didn t even speak English he reasoned His partner eventually got an appointment and crossed into the United States Hern ndez stayed behind I m starting from scratch he mentioned I don t regret my decision It was at that moment that I was completely able to start planning my life Jos Hern ndez sells clothes outside of a shelter he s staying at on May in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune With his savings he bought a table and clothes to sell at a street stand outside the shelter where Hern ndez lives Maybe it s not much he explained of his small business But it has come with a lot of effort and sacrifice I am very happy with what I have achieved because it is my small legacy which I hope to grow more with discipline and effort Such alternative solutions to earn a living are common among asylum seekers who aren t legally allowed to work in Mexico while their applications are pending Mexico no longer issues the so-called humanitarian visitor cards that allowed asylum seekers to work while their cases were being reviewed Advocacy workers say that this is one of the majority of frequently mentioned concerns among asylum seekers Still multiple find a way According to UNHCR facts of the nearly asylum seekers and refugees in Baja California last year had a job either formal or informal The asylum process in Mexico is supposed to take about three months disclosed Mej a from UNHCR but the number of cases exceeds the limit of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid to process them At present and depending on each circumstance the process can take between six months and a year she estimated Jos Hern ndez sells clothes outside of a shelter Transients can't obtain documentation to work while their asylum applications are being processed which can take several months Plenty of turn to informal work to earn a living Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune V zquez from Al Otro Lado declared that the lack of enough interpreters at the commission known as Comar is also contributing to the delayed process Still V zquez believes it s more likely to obtain asylum in Mexico than in the United States In the United States an immigration judge grants asylum indicates whereas in Mexico Comar a regime agency makes the decision The American dream reborn On a newest Wednesday morning Vivianne Petit Fr re restocked the kitchen of the Haitian restaurant she opened nearly three years ago in Tijuana readying for the busy lunch rush of fellow expats Later on her way to a nearby mall to have her cellphone fixed friends from Haiti greeted her on the street She was a local now Besides owning Lakou Lakay which serves Caribbean dishes such as mixed rice with pork and banana and pork ragout she attends college and works as a human rights advocate for her district She can relate to the struggle to get there I came in search of the American dream reflected Petit Fr re Petit Fr re s mother sold their house in Haiti so she could leave the country in search of better opportunities to provide for her mother and two children who remained behind Fluent in French Petit Fr re first ascertained a job at a five-star hotel in Brazil However when the pandemic hit things hurriedly went downhill So she began the dangerous journey to the U S -Mexico dividing line Vivianne Petit Frere brings groceries to her restaurant on June in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune By the time she arrived in Tijuana in late with sights ultimately set on New Jersey she felt that seeking asylum in the U S was one gamble she couldn t afford A great number of Haitians were being expelled under a residents medical protocol at the time I couldn t afford to be deported so I didn t cross she commented I stayed in Tijuana She plugged in to an already vibrant district of Haitian refugees in the confines city various whom arrived following a devastating earthquake that ravaged the island nation in Nearly half of the asylum seekers and refugees in Baja California since have been from Haiti according to the UNHCR Related Articles Murder trial begins for Colorado dentist accused of poisoning wife s protein shakes Largest part US stocks fall but Nvidia keeps Wall Street near records dead in New Jersey after flood waters carry away wagon during heavy rains that hit Northeast JPMorgan posts strong second quarter numbers though Dimon warns of tariff geopolitical threat The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge She spent her first nights in a Tijuana park alongside other Haitians until she revealed a place to stay She knocked on doors looking for work and eventually landed her first job as a cleaner With practice and the help of translation apps on her phone she learned to speak Spanish Petit Fr re shares an entrepreneurial spirit common among movers There are no jobs in Haiti she commented So if you want to make money you have to find a way to start your own business She opened her restaurant in Tijuana s Zona Centro in Though she envisioned it as a way to serve her area it has also become a means of sharing her society with the city Vivianne Petit Frere greets a friend s child Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune She is at this moment studying social work in college and pursuing a diploma in restaurant management She is also the Tijuana representative of the nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance Petit Fr re had a daughter in Mexico Later the rest of her family immigrated to Tijuana from Haiti They are now all legal residents In hindsight she disclosed she realized she had located what she was looking for in Tijuana Or maybe she has even bigger dreams A home of their own Other migrant families have revealed the same sense of stability in the city of nearly million inhabitants For the Miranda family who fled El Salvador to escape violence in their town fate intervened in their plans Roc o Ramos right helps her daughter Abigail with schoolwork in their home next to the Iglesia Embajadores de Jesus shelter on May in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune In early on the day they were scheduled to show up at the port of entry to request asylum an intense storm turned dirt roads to muddy rivers The van from the shelter that had been prepared to take them to the frontier couldn t leave What if we stay in Mexico Josu Miranda wondered aloud to his wife She mentioned to me How is that manageable The journey was too tough to stay here he recalled There were several questions that had to be considered How to make a living Where to live As time passed they located answers his wife Roc o Ramos opened a food stand outside the Embajadores de Jes s shelter and Josu became a close collaborator of the shelter s director Josu Ramos helps build homes for several families at the Iglesia Embajadores de Jesus shelter Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune Last year they were given the opportunity to build their own house on the shelter s grounds It s part of the shelter s project to provide housing for people who decide to settle in Tijuana I never thought I would have a house here one day Miranda stated Since the day we decided to stay at no time was there any regret Uncertain future Multiple refugees who decided to stay are still charting their paths The Artega family who struggled to find safe affordable housing decided to move to Rosarito about half an hour south of Tijuana Arteaga s wife ascertained a job at a local supermarket Rents are also more affordable there Arteaga declared Other asylum seekers are still coming to grips with their new reality Ivis Salgado of Honduras left and Milagro Gonzalez leave a shelter that they re staying at to go to a bus stop to get to work on May in Tijuana Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune Milagro Gonz lez an asylum seeker from Venezuela had been among the lucky meager who had secured an upcoming CBP One appointment until it was canceled on Trump s first day in office She revealed a place to stay at a Tijuana migrant shelter hoping that another option to apply for asylum in the United States would arise But over time her hope of spanning the frontier faded Gonz lez is too afraid to return home so she began the process of applying for refugee status in Mexico Maybe God didn t want me on the other side of the perimeter she mentioned God wants me to learn a lesson here