Love without borders: Russian and Ukrainian married in Tijuana

Love has no borders, as demonstrated in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, in recent days, nor does it have any impossibilities when it comes to looking for a better future as a couple.

Through the Tijuana City Council, a love story was unveiled between Semen, a Russian man, and Daría, a Ukrainian woman who came to Mexico as refugees with the aim of reaching the United States.

However, San Ysidro received them with bad news, as only those citizens of Russia and Ukraine who can prove a family bond are allowed access as war refugees, so the only option was to join in marriage legally.

The city council itself assured that they did not find any kind of impediment to the wedding between them, after the couple delivered in a timely manner each of the documents that were requested of them.

This request was made through the Municipal Directorate for Migrant Assistance, in coordination with the local Civil Registry, who claimed to work “to provide the services required by citizens of other nationalities”.

Finally, the wedding was held on April 13, 2022 at Office 01 of the Civil Registry, in the Municipal Palace of Tijuana, according to the information available. Through social networks, they also revealed that their witnesses were unknown to the couple.

The municipal director of Migrant Care of Baja California, Enrique Lucero, met at the venue, who posted on his official Twitter: “It gave me great satisfaction to be part of this beautiful story”, along with a photo of the bride and groom.

The border state with the United States, specifically through the port of San Ysidro, has in recent months become a camp for refugees from the countries in conflict: Russia and Ukraine.

Just on April 7, 2022, it was reported that the United States significantly increased the number of Ukrainians admitted to the country from the Mexican border.

Tijuana has suddenly become the last stop for Ukrainians seeking refuge in the United States, where they are attracted by friends and family willing to receive them, convinced that the United States will be a more convenient haven than Europe.

Word has quickly spread on social media that a coalition of volunteers, mainly from Slavic churches in the western United States, is guiding hundreds of refugees daily from Tijuana airport to temporary shelters, where they wait two to four days for US officials to admit them with humanitarian conditional permits. In less than two weeks, volunteers worked with U.S. and Mexican authorities to build a remarkably effective network to provide food, security, transportation and shelter.

Some of the migrants were channeled to a pedestrian crossing in San Diego that is temporarily closed to the public, with the hope of prosecuting 578 people there a day with 24 agents, said Enrique Lucero, director of immigration affairs for the city of Tijuana.

Vlad Fedoryshyn, a volunteer with access to a waiting list, said Thursday that the United States processed 620 Ukrainians within 24 hours, while some 800 arrive in Tijuana every day. Volunteers say that the United States was admitting a few hundred Ukrainians earlier every day.

President Joe Biden's government has said it will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians, but Mexico is the only route through which large numbers enter. Appointments at US consulates in Europe are scarce, and refugee relocation takes time.

The US government set a ceiling of 125,000 refugees in the 12-month period ending September 30, but as of March 31 it had accepted just 8,588, including 704 Ukrainians. The previous year, the quota was limited to 62 thousand 500 people, but only 11 thousand 411 entered, of whom 803 were Ukrainians.

*With information from AP

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