Explainer-Why Venezuela's refugee exodus to the U.S. has been accelerating

Venezuelan migrants, expelled from the U.S. and sent back to Mexico under Title 42, queue outside of the National Institute of Migration (INM) building in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

(Reuters) - U.S. and Mexican authorities recently announced a new policy that would expel Venezuelans entering the U.S. land border back to Mexico, but allow up to 24,000 people from the country to apply for humanitarian entry into the United States by air.

As a result of the new policy, thousands of Venezuelans believed to be en route to the United States are now stranded between the two countries during a year when Venezuelans are arriving at the U.S. border in record numbers.