Hundreds of migrants stranded on the southern border of Mexico denounced that the Mexican authorities have blocked their way to transit through the country towards the border with the United States.
At the Ejido México checkpoint, near the border with Guatemala, migrants from Africa, China, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Honduras and Colombia remain, awaiting attention from the National Institute of Migration (INM).
The Colombian Andrés Castro, in his 40s, who was engaged in informal commerce in his country, accused the authorities of “closing the doors directly on them.”
Castro indicated that, given the lack of attention, groups of migrants have decided to walk out and surround the immigration checkpoints.
“They have not treated us in one way, Migration does not solve anything for us, the truth has not been treated as it should be, we ask to leave quickly to reach the goal,” he told EFE.
The situation reflects the panorama of Mexico after the expiration last week of Title 42 of the United States, a measure that immediately expelled migrants on the grounds of the pandemic.
The Government of Mexico has promised to “help in everything” to avoid immigration chaos and maintains the deployment of nearly 25,000 elements of the Armed Forces on the northern and southern borders for immigration tasks.
In a brief dialogue, a migrant from Afghanistan reported that they have been with their children for two days, so they expect attention as soon as possible.
Elements of the National Guard arrived at this checkpoint, who spoke with the migrants to prevent them from walking down the highway.
Wilmar Cárdenas, from Venezuela, has been waiting for four days to obtain documents to transit through Mexican territory.
“We have spoken with the authorities, but they tell us that they are going to take us on a bus six hours from now, but we do not know where or when, but it is not known to what destination they are going to take us to continue or some border” , he stated.
The migrants indicated that they have tried to walk on the highway, but the authorities return them due to the lack of a transit permit and the lack of money that has been diminishing due to the long wait for the documents.
The region is facing an unprecedented migratory flow with more than 2.76 million undocumented people intercepted by the United States at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022.
Keep reading:
- Authorities arrest three people who smuggled 28 migrants in northern Mexico
- Governor Ron DeSantis sent troops from Florida to Texas to “secure” the border
- Afghan terrorist was arrested in the United States after crossing between migrants from Tijuana, Mexico