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In recent weeks, Mexico has faced immigration pressure from the north, south and its own borders, putting it in an increasingly difficult situation.
Thousands of immigrants continue to cross its southern border, and the United States has repatriated thousands of people from the north. The prospect of American manufacturing is rekindled. Asylum seeker Waiting for a long time in Mexico.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Thursday that the strategy of curbing southern migration is inherently untenable and that the region needs more investment to prevent Central Americans. Leave Their home.
But immigrant groups Go north From southern Mexico in recent days HaitianThe Central American tree planting and youth employment plan proposed by the President of Mexico will not address this group.
Southern border of mexico
In recent weeks, protests by thousands of mainly Haitian migrants trapped in the southern city of Tapachula have intensified. Many have been waiting there for several months, some for as long as a year, waiting for asylum applications to be processed.
The Mexican refugee agency that processes applications is overwhelmed. It has fallen behind, and the pandemic has made things slower. So far this year, more than 77,000 people have applied for protected status in Mexico, of which 55,000 are in Tapachula. Among these applicants, Haitians accounted for approximately 19,000.
The shelter in Tapachula is full, and many asylum seekers live in unhygienic conditions while waiting. Without the ability to work, many people have little choice.
Frustrated by the delays and their living conditions, some people began to organize into groups of hundreds. Last Saturday, several groups began to walk out of Tapachula and head north. To date, these groups have been dispersed and/or detained by Mexican authorities, sometimes using excessive force.
Mexico’s northern border
Since the U.S. Supreme Court, concerns in northern Mexico have been increasing order The controversial plan was restarted, which made asylum seekers wait in Mexico while the case was processed. The Trump-era policy is called the Immigration Protection Agreement, but it is better known as “stay in Mexico”, causing more than 70,000 asylum seekers to wait, mainly in dangerous Mexican border cities.
The Biden administration ended the plan earlier this year and stated that even if the Department of Homeland Security takes steps to comply, it will appeal the court’s decision. On the ground, asylum seekers trying to enter the United States have been frozen. The refuge in northern Mexico fears that it will soon be overwhelmed by returning asylum seekers. The Mexican government has not yet stated how it will respond.
At the same time, the U.S. government continued Quick removal Immigrants under pandemic-related powers invoked by the Trump administration. So far this year, the US government has authorized 674,000 deportations under Article 42.
U.S. expelled to southern Mexico
The US government also transported thousands of migrants from other countries to southern Mexico, where Mexican authorities took them to remote areas bordering Guatemala and then sent them away. The idea is to reduce returns by making it harder for immigrants to reach the United States again. Dana Graber Ladek, the head of Mexico at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under the United Nations system, said Mexico is also moving migrants detained in the north to the southern border.
Alejandra Macías from Asylum Access Mexico, a non-governmental organization, said these were illegal transfers, “because they did not screen people at risk”. The International Organization for Migration also expressed concern about these flights because people “sometimes are sent away at night, sometimes without knowing what they are doing or where they are,” Graber Ladek said.
Mexican government action
President Lopez Obrador agreed with the Trump administration’s tough immigration policy and expressed willingness to continue to cooperate with the Biden administration.
Mexican Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval (Luis Cresencio Sandoval) said last week that the main goal of the armed forces and the National Guard is to “stop all immigrants” and “cover the northern and southern borders with soldiers.”
But on Thursday, the president was frustrated with the immigration containment strategy, which has recently attracted widespread criticism. He said he would write to Biden and insist that the US government invest in the development projects he proposes to help people in Central America and southern Mexico reduce the need for immigration-although so far, US officials have not been enthusiastic about specific plans.
His government has pledged to issue thousands of work visas and welcomes asylum seekers. But the military has received more budget support, while the refugee agency’s budget has decreased.
Andres Ramirez Silva, head of the Mexican Refugee Assistance Committee, said: “We are experiencing an absolutely unusual avalanche, especially for Haitians.”
Others say the problem is not just the increase in asylum applicants. The Roman Catholic Church stated that the government “lack of clear immigration policies and strategic planning”. It blames mismanagement of resources, the militarization of immigration policies, and the lack of coordination between the factions in the government that promote containment and those that prioritize human rights.
Possible fix
In order to clear the backlog in Tapachula, the Mexican refugee agency hopes to provide Haitians (the second largest group of immigrants after Honduras) with new options to enable them to travel outside of Chiapas and find legal jobs.
Ramirez Silva said that these immigrants do not meet all the requirements for asylum, but they do need protection because they cannot return to a country in a political and humanitarian crisis.
He said that not everyone in the Mexican government agrees with this approach, but he does have the support of the UN agency. Graber Ladek stated that they are working with the Mexican government to facilitate the issuance of temporary immigration permits until officials can come up with other ideas that are not limited to one nationality.
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