Some Venezuelan couples separated under new U.S.-Mexico migrant policy

Migrants from Venezuela and other countries gather in San Pedro Tapanatepec, where migrants can acquire permits to cross the country, in Oaxaca state, Mexico, October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Rusvel Rasgado

MEXICO CITY/CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - A new U.S.-Mexico border policy geared at deterring Venezuelans fleeing hardship in their home country from entering the United States illegally has separated some families, migrants said on Friday, with several women known to have been sent back to Mexico as their husbands stayed on in the United States.

The separations of at least three married couples, as well as a mother returned without her 20-year-old son, occurred during some of the first expulsions of Venezuelans from the United States back to Mexico under the policy announced by officials from the two countries on Wednesday.