By EFE
06 Mar 2024, 21:25 PM EST
56% of migrants who crossed Mexico in 2023 suffered some type of abuse, such as robbery or physical threats, according to a new study by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) published this Wednesday.
Titled ‘The impact of forced displacement on human mobility’, the work reveals that 56% of the people surveyed suffered abuse during their transit through the country, such as robbery (27%), extortion (17%) and physical threats or intimidation (15%), among others.
“The findings of protection monitoring document that crossing Mexico irregularly is just as dangerous for people on the move as the Darién jungle (between Panama and Colombia) and Central American countries,” adds the UNHCR.
In these territories, “almost half” of those surveyed also had protection problems, especially assaults (23%) and extortion (17%).
On the other hand, the organization denounces that, of the practically one and a half million people on the move in Mexico registered between January and September 2023, 788,000 were returned to their countries of origin by land or air.
This figure is especially important because 66% of those surveyed stated that “their life, safety or freedom” would be in danger if they were returned to their land.
“This indicates that their deportation would be a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, a cornerstone of international refugee law,” warns the UNHCR.
Starting in June 2023, deportations from the United States to Mexico of people trying to cross the border were analyzed: 139 cases were detected involving 207 people, who could require international protection after “fleeing violence” in their countries.
The destination country, United States
The report also indicates that the main destination of mobile migrants was the United States (63%), although 26% of those surveyed wanted to stay in Mexico.
Among the people who intended to settle in the country, those who came from Guatemala (37%), Honduras (36%) and Cuba (31%) stand out.
On the other hand, 88% of the Venezuelan population surveyed had the objective of rebuilding their life in the United States.
According to UNHCR data, 55% of the population surveyed traveled in family groups and, within this portion, the largest type of family is single-parent (22%).
In addition, 32% of the migrants questioned had “specific protection needs”, such as being mothers or single caregivers (13%), survivors of physical, sexual or psychological abuse (6%) or people with chronic illnesses or situations (6 %).
The survey, carried out between January and December of last year in different parts of Mexico, includes interviews with 15,000 migrants of different nationalities, where Hondurans (28%), Venezuelans (17%) and Cubans (12%) have more weight.
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