Migrants get the advantage of U.S. court rulings by crossing over Mexico border.

Jose Luis Gonzalez and Daina Bet Solomon

CIUDAD JUAREZ (Mexico) – Hundreds of migrants from northern Mexico took matters into their own hands and tried to sneak into the United States even before the U.S. Supreme Court voted to preserve a measure aimed to deter illegal border crossings.

Title 42, a controversial pandemic-era policy, was due to expire Dec. 21. But last-minute legal stays put border policy in limbo. This led to a growing number to decide to cross anyway.

After days spent in cold border cities, migrants from Venezuelan and other countries that were targeted by Title 42 decided to make a run for their lives rather than remain in the uncertainty of the legal tug of war playing out in U.S. courtrooms.

Jhonatan (a Venezuelan migrant) said, “We ran, we hid, till we made it,” and that he crossed the border with his wife and five children aged 3-16 on Monday night.

Jhonatan spoke by phone and gave only his first name. He said that he had spent many months in Mexico and did not want to illegally enter the United States.

The thought of losing his family after a trip that took them through dangerous jungles in Panama, Central America and Mexico was too much for him to bear.

“It would have been the last straw for us to get here, then they send me back to Venezuela,” he said to Reuters.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted Tuesday’s request by a group Republican state attorneys general for a temporary restraining order to a judge who had declared Title 42 invalid. They argued that its removal would lead to more border crossings.

The court stated that it will hear arguments from the states on whether they can intervene to defend Title 42 at its February session. A decision is expected before the end of June.

Reuters images showed migrants speeding along a busy highway next to the border last week. One man was barefoot and carried a small child – a dangerous crossing that alarms migrant advocates.

Fernando Garcia, Director of the Border Network for Human Rights, stated that “we’re talking about people coming to ask for asylum…and they’re still crossing border in very dangerous manners.”

John Martin, El Paso’s deputy director of the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, stated that the shelter is taking in more migrants from people who have crossed illegally, such as many Venezuelans.

He said, “At one time, the majority of them were documented. Now I see it reverse.”

Before the Supreme Court decision, a Venezuelan immigrant from Ciudad Juarez named Antonio stated that he was still waiting to see if U.S. Border surveillance would end and that he wanted to earn money in the United States so he could send his children home.

He stated, “If they don’t end Title 42,” “we’re going to continue entering illegally.”

Others who crossed the border said that they felt like they were out of options.

Cesar, a Venezuelan immigrant living in Tijuana, said, “We don’t have a chance in Mexico.” He explained why he tried once to cross the border into the United States and hopes to do so again.

(Reporting from Daina Beth Solomon, Mexico City; Jose Luis Gonzalez, Ciudad Juarez. Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diz. Editing by Dave Graham.