But their relatively calm life these days masks the arduous journey that began in Lima, Peru. Financial fortunes then dried up, and the family became the target of xenophobic rants.
Chrisman Urvaez told CNN, “Peru’s economy started to slump. “We couldn’t afford a lot of food. There is also a lot of xenophobia towards Venezuelans in Latin America. I insulted them, but I didn’t want that for my children.”
Using a car for transportation, the family crossed Ecuador and parts of Colombia in late April. After four days of walking through the jungles of northern Colombia, he reached Panama.
His son, Sebastian Urbaez, told CNN that there were times when he was exhausted. At that moment, Max lay on top of him and licked his cheek to cheer him up.
“He was very tough. He just kept walking with us. Not just a dog. He’s like our brother now,” said 9-year-old Sebastian.
Determined to bring Max to the United States, the family said they wrapped him in blankets, disguised him as a child, and put him on multiple buses.
“Costa Rica was tough to get through. As soon as Max realized it was a dog, he told me to get off the bus,” Chrisman said. “But we kept trying.”
After weeks of sleeping on cardboard and traveling safely through Mexico, the family crossed the Rio Grande and turned themselves in to immigration in Eagle Pass, Texas, on June 19.
Seeking Asylum and Finding Max
The Urbaez family sought asylum while crossing the border.
However, the immigration authorities denied Max entry. They told Annabelle to think of her children and leave her dog behind.
“But I couldn’t,” Annabel said. “Not after all he’s been through with our family.”
Sebastian and his six-year-old sister, Chryzanieris, began crying when the family asked immigration officers to take Max with them, but to no avail.
“There was one officer who I believe God put in our way,” Annabelle told CNN. He took Max to the shelter and gave him the shelter address so he could go look for him when we were released.”
According to Annabelle, immigration officials recognized Max from an article published by a Latin American news agency that covered the family’s unusual journey. was attached.
After being released, the family treks to a dog shelter to retrieve Max. But the shelter said it released Max to a man who claimed to have ties to his family. Annabelle said the Urbaez family was able to locate the man. He agreed to return Max if they picked him up in Uvalde, Texas.
With the help of a stranger who offers to provide the family with a car, Arbaez is reunited with Max the next day.
Annabelle said they found themselves at the Uvalde Memorial Park, where Chrysanieris left a toy at a memorial set up for the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting.
urban jungle
After being released from U.S. custody, Texas immigration officials escorted the Arbaez family to a New York City shelter for a meeting with immigration court.
After keeping Max safe, the family arrives in New York and decides to appear before a judge.
With the help of a stranger, they stumbled upon the Aabaez family stranded at a gas station, so the family drove to San Antonio to seek more help there.
In San Antonio, they approached an organization that helped immigrants (Annabel can’t remember the name of the group, but said all the workers wore blue jackets).
“They helped us out and arranged our plane tickets to New York, but when they realized we had a dog, they canceled our tickets. said Chrisman.
The family told CNN they sought help from an organization and eventually agreed to get tickets for the family bus to New York City. It is said that he spent three days in the middle of the trip.
The family arrived at the Port Authority and began searching for shelters pointed out by Texas immigration officials. According to Annabelle, after asking for directions several times, they found shelter but were denied entry because the organization only helps survivors of domestic violence and not whole families. .
According to the couple, the family appeared to spend the night on the streets until they struck up a conversation with the owner of a bodega on 9th and 39th streets.
When the owner heard the family’s story, he offered to let them sleep in the truck for the night.
“He said he didn’t want anything from me. He said he would let me sleep in his car overnight and help me find a place to go the next day,” Chrisman said.
The next day, the owner fed the family and let them hang out at the grocery store.
When local resident and activist Robert Gonzalez frequented the store, the bodega owner asked Gonzalez to help his family, Gonzalez told CNN.
Gonzalez, who has been helping Venezuelan immigrant families for the past two years, asked the bodega owner to take the family to the Bronx’s Office of Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing. However, the family was rejected again. The shelter does not allow dogs.
Gonzalez contacted a psychotherapist friend to help the family begin the process of registering Max as a service dog. Meanwhile, volunteers took Max in and the family spent the next two days waiting for the city’s homeless reception center to process the paperwork.
The family currently lives in a shelter in Bushwick, Brooklyn. And even though they’re finally able to sleep in a warm bed, and thankful that they’ve made it to America, they still feel vague.
“Fathers can’t work,” Gonzales said. “Until the next court, they don’t have permission to work, so they have to rely on people like me who are willing to help. It’s even worse for Venezuelan immigrants because they are orphans in a way. We don’t have an embassy or consulate in Venezuela, so if you need help or want a copy of a document from home, you can rush to the United States.”
This fall, Sebastian Urbaez and Chryzanieris Urbaez announced that as part of Project Open Arms, the city’s initiative to help asylum seekers, the Department of Social Services will help nearly 1,000 asylum seekers to enroll in New York City’s public schools. Become part of the child. Families with academic and language-based needs.
The family’s next court hearing is in October 2023, when it will become clear whether they are legally given permission to work.
Manuel Castro, New York City’s immigration commissioner, said in an interview with CNN that New York City could intervene with the federal government to provide additional assistance to the city and expedite work permits for asylum seekers. I said I am asking for it.
“Most of the families I have spoken to want to work, but they don’t want to stay in the shelter. They just want to contribute to society, they just want peace,” Castro said. rice field.
Meanwhile, Max obtains a service dog qualification.
“We don’t think of him as just a dog. We see him as part of our family,” Annabel said. “If we left him, the children wouldn’t have forgiven us.”
Source: www.cnn.com
