According to the immigration authorities of Mexico, the shelters on the southern Mexican border have reported a 10% increase in men who are migrating alone to the United States. Lorenza Obdulia Reyes Núñez, director of the Todo por Ellos shelter, on the border with Guatemala, highlighted that one of the factors is that the wives now go ahead and the men migrate with the little ones to catch up with them in the North.
According to reports, this new aspect of migration from the South to the North is characterized by people of Venezuelan and Guatemalan origin. “It is usual for the mother to come alone with the child, but not men. But now they are coming. The countries they are coming from are Guatemala and Venezuela,” the director told the EFE news agency.
Many of the immigrants who arrive with their children do not usually have money to pay for a hotel or lodging, which is why many remain on the streets or take refuge in shelters. This would be caused by not having sufficient funds or not finding someone to care for their children while they look for work or sustenance to continue their trip to the United States.
This same week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) warned that the number of migrant minors who crossed the Darien jungle in Panama between the months of January and April multiplied eight times, compared to with the same period of 2022. According to a report, the numbers reached record numbers of more than 25,000 minors.
The international organization urged society and the State to unite in a joint effort to ensure that all boys and girls can grow up in a safe environment. In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that minors on the Mexican border and other routes in Central America are the most vulnerable in the middle of the route to reach the United States.
Additionally, they determined that of the 43,477 people who traveled through the Darén they were between 0 and 11 years of age, and at least 12,954 traveled completely alone. The director of Migration of Panama, Samira Gozaine, assured that in her last visit to the Darién Gap she saw newborn children of days, and many migrants lose their children because it is heavy to carry them, since it is difficult for them to face the climatic and environmental conditions from the jungle.
With information from EFE
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