More than a dozen migrants sewed their mouths shut Tuesday in front of the local offices of the National Immigration Institute (INM) in the southern Mexican city of Tapatsula as part of a demonstration demanding that they be given papers to travel to the north of the country. , on the border with the USA, broadcast Mexican media.
Immigrants have been protesting for more than a week in Tapatsula, in the state of Chiapas (south), demanding that they be given transit permits for humanitarian reasons.
“We are protesting to be allowed to go to Monterrey (north) and then cross the border; the authorities” have made an appointment with me in three or four months and I do not have the money to wait that long, “said Rafael Hernandez, an immigrant from Venezuela, which together with others, mainly from Haiti and Cuba, are seeking a solution.
According to activist Irineo Mouhikas, who accompanied the protesters, the immigration service “does not respond” and “does nothing to solve the problems of migrants, to give them papers.” The protesters decided to sew their mouths “in protest” of their treatment, he added, adding: “We hope the INM will see that they are cursing, that they are human beings.”
Giorgis Rivera, an immigrant from Venezuela, assured that “I do it for my daughter. He has not eaten anything since yesterday and I do not see any solution (…) from the beginning “.
“We are like prisoners here,” he added.
Thousands of immigrants, mostly from Central American countries, cross Mexico each year in hopes of crossing the border and seeking asylum in the United States to escape the violence and misery of their home countries.
Mexican authorities have stepped up controls and measures to stem the flow of migrants, which have begun to increase dramatically since the election of President Joe Biden.
On December 9, a truck carrying about 160 migrants was involved in a road accident in Chiapas, killing 56 of them, most of them Guatemalans.
The INM says it is continuing its efforts to help migrants by prioritizing the most vulnerable – children, adolescents, pregnant women, crime victims, people with disabilities, the elderly. She adds that she welcomes over 100 applicants to her offices in the city every day.
In addition to the fact that in recent years the number of immigrants arriving in Mexico trying to cross it and reach the United States has multiplied, in 2021 the authorities spoke of an increase in asylum applications in Mexico itself by 87% , mainly by citizens of Haiti and Honduras.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently urged authorities to consider creating new assistance programs amid rising arrivals, especially from Venezuelans, whom Mexico is now seeking visas to allow entry.
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