By The Diary
Aug 21, 2024, 3:18 PM EDT
The Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) has announced the opening of the Tapachula Multi-Service Center in September, a key project to manage the growing migratory flow on Mexico’s southern border.
According to Andrés Ramírez Silva, coordinator of Comar, who spoke to EFE, the center will provide care to various categories of human mobility, with a special focus on those seeking international protection.
The center, which is 60% complete, will be symbolically inaugurated in a ceremony attended by Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of the Interior Luisa María Alcalde, and other senior officials.
Although the center is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, the opening is anticipated to mark the beginning of its role in immigration care.
This new centre in Tapachula will join the existing ones in Tijuana and Monterrey, two of the most important cities in northern Mexico, where the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and civil organisations also collaborate.
“Now in Tapachula it will be the third with a very important multipurpose model and, in addition, this center allows for the attention in a single space of various categories of human mobility, although mainly those seeking international protection, which are the ones that basically come to Comar,” the Mexican official told EFE.
Growth of migratory flow
The context of this initiative reflects the growing complexity of the migration situation in Mexico. Although COMAR has recorded a 47% drop in asylum applications during the first seven months of the year, with a total of 46,920 requests, irregular migration has shown a dramatic increase.
According to data from the Government’s Migration Policy Unit, more than 712,000 people have crossed irregularly through Mexico in the first half of the year, representing an increase of 193% compared to the same period last year.
Ramírez Silva stressed that Mexico’s migration situation is unique, given that the country shares a 3,200-kilometer border with the United States, one of the most sought-after destinations for migrants.
“It is not a coincidence or a strange thing that many of the people who come to our country use it as a transit route to the United States,” he explained.
Challenges in caring for migrants
The official acknowledged the challenges in responding to asylum applications, especially in a context of mixed flows where not all migrants seek to stay in Mexico.
He also said that Mexican authorities are working to ensure that migrants can use the CBP One application, a tool that makes it easier to schedule appointments with U.S. authorities.
This would allow migrants to process their applications without having to reach the border between Mexico and the United States, thus offering a safer and more orderly alternative to their migration journey.
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