In recent days, hundreds of migrants have arrived in the municipality of San Cristóbal de las Casas, in Chiapas, following the sudden closure of the immigration regularization offices in Tapachula, following several violent acts between foreigners and the authorities.
“It's very sad because they grab us, they stop us and then we're going to return. I am no longer asking for refuge because it is too late, my goal was to take my grandson with his mother to the United States, who has been living there for 3 years,” Jacky Chacon told Efe Jacky Chacon.
The Honduran woman, 55, traveled from her country with her grandson crossing Guatemala to Tapachula, to apply for a humanitarian card that allows her to travel freely and reach the United States.
However, the procedures were complicated in Tapachula, so last week he decided to travel to San Cristobal de las Casas, about 400 kilometers away.
In this municipality, she was evaluating on Tuesday whether to return to Honduras or if she could still get some kind of permission for her grandson and herself.
Last Friday, the National Institute of Migration (INM) announced that the attention of its services in the southern area immigration regularization office (located in Tapachula) was suspended until further notice, due to the fact that hundreds of migrants attempted to enter the property violently.
This decision came after several clashes between a group of migrants with the authorities, where they broke into the INM headquarters in Tapachula, a city on the border with Guatemala, where thousands of migrants have been stranded for weeks or even months.
According to Efe, Tapachula woke up this Tuesday in relative calm, although a group of around 200 migrants evaluate whether during the week they will leave in a caravan supported by activists, while many others have already mobilized northwards.
Coinciding with the arrival of these hundreds of migrants in San Cristóbal de las Casas, and following the long-growing phenomenon of migration, several institutions opened a shelter on Tuesday where they had been working for years to serve asylum seekers, refugees and foreigners.
The work was financed by the Pastoral Service for Migrants (SEPAMI), belonging to the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, and by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and will accommodate up to 100 people.
The region of the central corridor of Chiapas is part of the route used by people who fled their countries due to violence or persecution, so UNHCR and its partners identified the need to strengthen the capacity in San Cristóbal de las Casas to house people in dignified and safe conditions, the UN office said in a statement.
He highlighted that in Chiapas, according to the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (Comar), 80% of asylum applications were received.
The SEPAMI shelter joins a very strong network of shelters in Mexico, which are the first line in the humanitarian response, told Efe Giovanni Lepri, UNHCR representative in Mexico, at the opening of the space.
During the event, Monsignor Rodrigo Aguilar Martínez, from the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas, thanked all the actors for their efforts and willingness to see this project come true.
“Despite the restrictions of the pandemic and political restrictions, there have been no longer migrants,” explained the ecclesiastical.
Martha Lizeth Álvarez Cruz, originally from Honduras, was one of the women who attended this shelter today. The 32-year-old woman travels with her two-year-old son.
With the support of SEPAMI, she obtained legal advice and had an interview with the immigration authorities in June.
“It's boring and stressful to be waiting for the results. But I hope to get closer to the north to be in touch with my husband, who hasn't seen his son for several years,” said the Honduran.
The region is experiencing a record flow to the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants on the Mexican border in fiscal year 2021, which ended September 30.
Mexico deported more than 114,000 foreigners in 2021, according to data from the country's Ministry of the Interior.
Mexican authorities have intercepted 73,034 foreigners with an irregular stay in the national territory between January 1 and March 8 of this year, as recently reported by the INM.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar) received a record 131,448 refugee applications in 2021.
With information from EFE
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