South Florida organization lends helping hand to recently arrived migrants
MIAMI - "I feel blessed and grateful to have a roof over us," said Dayana Jimenez, a Venezuelan migrant, and mother of three young children.
Jimenez, her kids, and her husband, Javier Diaz of Cuban origin are staying temporarily at a hotel in South Florida.
They managed to have a place to stay thanks to "Hermanos de la Calle" (Brothers of the street) a non-profit organization that normally assists homeless people.
Yet, in the last weeks, they have done something different, rescuing migrants.
"It's very dangerous to be under a bridge here in Miami with very young kids. When we see that, we place them in hotels," said chairman Narciso Munoz.
Jimenez and her family crossed the southern border days before the Biden administration dictated new rules for migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela who crossed the border without a visa.
Javier Dias said the family came from Texas to Florida "because my immigration hearing will be in Tampa. Plus, I have family and friends in Miami."
However, Diaz said his family and friends did not return his calls or messages.
Diaz contacted "Hermanos de la Calle."
The family is aware that it's temporary help, the organization pays for one week of stay after that they have to find a way to pay.
"We help them to get established, but the help cannot be permanent," said Munoz.
Only days ago, Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust reiterated, "We can't possibly begin to open the door and say we're prepared to take care of this large influx of migrants, this is a federal government problem."
Book said "Hermanos de la Calle" are doing a great job and recommends migrants seek their help.
"Nosotros queremos trabajar" (We want to work), said Richard Chamorro a Nicaraguan migrant who crossed the U.S. border without a visa with his wife and 17-year-old daughter.
Chamorro, 43, said he was an electrician in Nicaragua but the repression in his homeland forced them to leave and said "Hermanos de la Calle" is a blessing.
"We slept in the streets of downtown Miami for five nights."
The organization urges migrants to contact organizations, friends, and relatives in other states because of the high cost of living in South Florida.
According to Munoz, if they have a place to go, they will pay for the trip.
But migrants must show proof someone is waiting for them, "we cannot export homeless to other parts of the country."
Chamorro said he is awaiting confirmation from a friend in North Carolina, "If he tells me he has a job for me, we go there."