Following the harsh anti-immigrant measures imposed upon the return to power of US President Donald Trump, migrants are attempting to obtain asylum papers in the city of Tapachula, in the southern state of Chiapas, bordering Guatemala, increasing their stay in Mexico to 20%.
The Elisa Martínez Street Brigade for the Support of Women organization reported that Venezuelan, Cuban, Ecuadorian, and Central American migrants have begun to stay in Tapachula, becoming sex workers.
Cristian Gómez Fuentes, the organization’s coordinator, reported that there has been a 20% increase in stranded migrants compared to the previous year, because many migrants have returned to their countries, while others are remaining in Tapachula to engage in sex work.
Just over six weeks after Trump took office, foreigners continue to line up outside the offices of this institution to request an appointment for eligibility or to access a resolution and apply for permanent residency that will allow them to regularize their status in Mexico.
Immigration offices saturated
Migrants, mostly Cubans, Venezuelans, and Central Americans, have been stranded in Tapachula, the largest city receiving migrants, and continue to arrive at the offices of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar), a unit of the Ministry of the Interior, to seek asylum documents in Mexico.
Outside Comar in Tapachula, an official from this institution tries to restore order and informs foreigners that they must line up in an orderly manner with their printed appointments so they can enter and be served.
“I ask that you get your ID. We’re going to give interview appointments for those who have an appointment for November, please. If you’re from December, we’re not giving them until next week,” the official said through a loudspeaker.
Katerina González, a Cuban migrant, told EFE that her appointment at Comar (Comar) is scheduled for March 31, so she’ll have to wait almost a month to be informed if she’ll be granted permanent residency on the southern border.
“The dream has somewhat faded. All Cubans wanted to reach the ‘land of opportunity,’ as they say, the United States, but nothing. We’ll stay here until then, and now we’re moving forward and taking up residency and staying here to work and face whatever comes,” she told EFE.
The woman said that so far she hasn’t had any problems with the police; for now, she works in a restaurant and earns a good salary to survive.
Leonardo, another migrant from Cuba who arrived seeking an appointment at Comar (Comar), said he remains in Tapachula because he doesn’t have a job and legal documents and is currently relying on the help of his family in the United States.
“It’s difficult to be here without a job. I think so. Trump messed things up. There are many Cubans here (seeking) legal status so they don’t have problems with the justice system and the authorities,” he explained.
Since President Trump took office on January 20, he has implemented various immigration measures, such as mass deportations, the “closure” of the border, and the end of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP One) application for asylum seekers from southern Mexico.
Under pressure from the United States, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has argued that encounters of irregular migrants at the U.S. border “are at their lowest level in recent history,” with 367 recorded on February 17.
Source: udgtv
