There has been a massive surge in the number of undocumented Cuban immigrants attempting to cross the border from Mexico into the United States via Texas, with more than 40,000 having made the long journey. The ports of entry in the Rio Grande Valley are being used to enter the US, according to KRGV.
Southern routes such as the Hidalgo International Bridge in Texas, close to McAllen, are among the passages being used by the immigrants. Cubans are using Ecuador as an entrance point to get to the United States as it is the only nation in Latin America that will allow Cubans to enter its borders without the need for a visa.
Ecuador is putting an end to this practice, however, with KRGV reporting that newcomers to the country will now be required to produce some kind of documentation to enter its borders. A diplomat in Ecuador allegedly gave the Cubans permission to come into the country; however, after other nations in Central America and South America were impacted by the immigration issue, officials are now changing the nation’s policy with regard to visas.
The same officials also want the United States to look at its own existing immigration laws with regard to Cuba. The amount of Cubans entering the US should fall between April and May, according to University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Professor Arturo Lopez Levy; however, more than 7,000 Cubans are currently trapped in a bottleneck situation.