Chiapas: Haitian Migrants from Tapachula Moved to other Locations

@ El Sol de Tijuana

According to Mexican authorities, on December 21st, the last 1,000 Haitians who remained in a camp in Tapachula were transferred, in an operation with the municipal police, the National Guard and the National Migration Institute (INM). In the “great immigration prison”, as Tapachula is known, thousands of people from Haiti and other countries have been living in “inhumane” conditions: without food, living on the roadside and in unsanitary locations.

The purpose was to take them to other parts of the country aboard INM buses so that people could regularize their immigration status. However, in many cases they find themselves in the same situations that violate their rights: they are prevented from working or renting a place to live, those who are sick or pregnant women do not have medical attention. Given this, Luis Rey Garcia Villagran, coordinator of the Center of Human Dignification CA in Tapachula, asked the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR) to properly channel people who are requesting refuge: “The immigration policies of COMAR must change in the term that the essence of this institution is the Cartagena protocol that establishes the ‘premium phase’, which means that just seeing them would have to establish systems to expedite the refugee status”, he commented.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard acknowledged that there is a lack of resources at COMAR to attend to the more than 123,000 asylum requests received this year, which increased by 300%. In this sense, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned that it is essential to strengthen the capacities and budget of said body, so that it is in a position to meet the growing demand this year.

For more information in Spanish:

Trasladan a miles de haitianos que permanecían en un campamento en Chiapas(Expansión Política, 21 de diciembre de 2021)

Haitianos sobreviven en condiciones inhumanas (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 19 de diciembre de 2021)

Culminan traslado de 20 mil haitianos de campamento en Tapachula (Forbes, 21 de diciembre de 2021)

Indispensable, fortalecer la capacidad de Comar: ACNUR (El Universal, 21 de diciembre de 2021)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Revictimiztion of Migrants in Accident; Mexican State Denies Dignified Treatment of Victims: COMDHSEM (December 21, 2021)

National: Migrant Caravan Arrives to Mexico City Following Confrontations with Police and National Guard (December 16, 2021)

National: CNDH Indicates COMAR for Omission and Delay in Resolution of Refugee Requests(December 17, 2020)

International/National: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ends Mexican Visit while African Migrants Protest in Tapachula (October 7, 2019)