2023-09-12 00:52:16
Ernesto Vasconcelo, a retired military officer from Venezuela who was deported from the US, is now a lawyer in Ciudad Juárez, on Mexico’s northern border, where he has helped more than 3,000 migrants seeking US asylum.
In 2002, Vasconcelo abandoned his military career and fled the failed coup once morest then-president Hugo Chávez (2002-2013) fearing for his life and that of his family.
Today, already qualified as a lawyer in Ciudad Juárez, he is dedicated to helping migrants who arrive from Central and South America to try to cross into the United States through this border.
After escaping from Venezuela, Eduardo was an undocumented migrant in the United States for almost six years, of which he spent two under confinement and fighting for his residency.
The US authorities deported him to Venezuela, but he returned in 2008 to Juárez, where 10 years later he would qualify as a lawyer to become an ally of other migrants.
“When I arrived here in Juárez, in need of having a profession I learned to weld, we made tables for maquiladoras, then I worked in two other companies and then I decided to stop being an employee, and I studied Law at the Cultural High School,” the lawyer tells EFE.
Today Eduardo takes advantage of his profession to help migrants achieve a formal stay in Mexico, while they advance in the United States.
Help in the face of the migratory flow The region faces an unprecedented migratory flow, with more than 2.76 million undocumented immigrants intercepted by the United States on the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022.
In the last two years, more than 3,000 migrants have passed through Eduardo’s office.
“Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, Peruvians, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, Colombians, Nicaraguans, we have all helped,” he says proudly to EFE.
“I feel satisfaction, a lot of satisfaction, knowing that we can serve something to migrants,” he adds.
Even so, the Venezuelan believes that Mexico is a better territory for migrants to prosper.
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“In the United States they are going to face very difficult situations, they are achievable goals, but the cost is very high, the barriers are very difficult, the language, legalization is very difficult, there is a lot of discrimination and there we Latinos are always going to be fifth class.” or fourth category,” he laments.
“On the other hand, in Mexico we speak the same language. I can assure you that the Venezuelans who decided to stay here have a much higher standard of living than many of those who left,” she adds.
Now, the former military man is seeking Mexican citizenship.
“Juárez for me is the family that I lost in my country, in the personal area of improvement it is everything. I arrived in Juárez with nothing, I had a military career that was of no use to me here and Juárez opened the door to improvement for me,” she expresses.
A helping hand for migrants Regarding the help offered to migrants, he states that it is crucial to obtain documents that prove their regular stay in Mexico.
“We have three ways to legalize ourselves: through a humanitarian visa, by having family here or by a job offer. The easiest way for them, who are fleeing political problems, is through humanitarian means,” explains Vasconcelo.
With that document, he indicates, “they can work and move throughout Mexico.”
“I was in the place where they were, I can provide them with legal support. The Mexican Constitution protects the rights of every person,” the migrants’ lawyer tells EFE.
Among those grateful for their support is William Macías, a Venezuelan who arrived aboard the train known as “The Beast” following crossing the Darién, a stretch of jungle on the border between Colombia and Panama.
“Advice is very important, he knows his job, he knows what you are going through and well now we are waiting, but at least we already have hope that he will help us from the heart because he comes from our country and knows his work,” he says.
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