International/National: Registration of Humanitarian Visas for Migrants Closes

@SIPAZ

On February 1st, the National Institute of Migration (INM in its Spanish acronym) reported that the possibility of registration for migrants to obtain humanitarian visas was closed. This decision left hundreds of migrants on the border of Guatemala and Mexico, with no possibility of applying.

The Collective of Observation and Monitoring of Human Rights in Southeast Mexico, a network of 12 non-governmental organizations in Mexico that have been monitoring the situation, expressed their concerns emphasizing that “the people left on the Guatemalan side have been left without options, such that the Mexican State does not develop a comprehensive migration and refuge policy that guarantees the dignified and safe entry of the forcibly displaced persons who arrive at the southern border, in order to establish themselves in Mexico, to benefit from international protection, or to transit through the territory to reach the northern border.”

On another note, on February 3rd, a caravan of around 2,000 migrants, mostly with humanitarian visas, left Tapachula, Chiapas, many of them still with the idea of ​​reaching the United States. The visas they obtained allow them to move and work legally in Mexico. Very few are considering staying in Chiapas or southern Mexico.

The atention plan launched by the federal government had begun on January 18th, and allowed the delivery of almost 13,000 humanitarian visas, the vast majority of them to Central Americans, in particular to 9,000 Hondurans, according to the INM.

For more information in Spanish:

Migrantes no se quedan en Chiapas, con visa humanitaria avanzan a EEUU (Quadratin Chiapas, 3 de febrero de 2019).

Programa de tarjetas para migrantes no debe cerrarse: Solalinde (Quadratin Chiapas, 1 de febrero de 2019).

Las visas humanitarias en México: un imán para la nueva caravana migrante (The New York Times, 25 de enero de 2019).

Cierra INM registro de migrantes; entregará 12,600 visas humanitarias (La Silla Rota, 30 de enero de 2019).

For more information from SIPAZ:

Internacional/México: Estalla la Violencia Xenófoba a migrantes en Tecún Umán (28 de enero de 2019).

Nacional/Internacional: Sánchez Cordero advierte que la caravana de migrantes solo tendrá “acceso ordenado” a territorio mexicano (9 de enero de 2019).

Nacional/Internacional: más de 9 mil migrantes que entraron en caravanas siguen sin mucha posibilidad de cumplir con su sueño (7 de diciembre de 2018).

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International/Mexico: Xenophobic Violence Erupts Against Migrants in Tecun Uman

Photo @ El Universal

On the morning of January 27th, a group calling itself “United Ayutlecos” forcibly evicted Hondurans and Salvadorans from the central park of Tecun Uman, located in the municipality of Ayutla, Guatemala, “with sticks stones.”

The migrants were in the central park waiting to be able to apply for a Visitor Card for Humanitarian Reasons from the Mexican authorities, which would allow them to cross the country legally.

The Collective of Observation and Monitoring of Human Rights in Southeast Mexico, made up of 15 civil organizations, reported that due to the eviction “the displaced persons have been forced to flee to the border and cross the International Bridge. The Mexican authority has let all the people pass by, and the agents have quickly installed fences to block the path of the aggressor group. Around two thousand people have also taken refuge from the violence unleashed in the municipal shelter of Tecun Uman, creating an untenable situation and a permanent risk.” Other migrants fled the assailant group crossing the Suchiate River on the Mexican side to feel more secure.

They mentioned that, “the acts have been perpetrated under the permissiveness of the Guatemalan authorities, who did absolutely nothing to defend the persons attacked, whether they were migrants, journalists or human rights defenders.”

For more information in Spanish:

ESTALLA LA VIOLENCIA XENÓFOBA EN TECÚN UMÁN (CDH Fray Matiás, 27 de enero de 2019)

Vecinos de Ayutla, San Marcos expulsan a migrantes hondureños y salvadoreños y se lían a golpes (Prensa Libre, 27 de enero de 2019)

Hombres embozados desalojan a migrantes en Tecún Uman (El Universal, 28 de enero de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/International: New Migrant Caravans Arrive at Border; Others Advance through Mexico (January 28th, 2019)

National/International: New Migrant Caravan Reaches Mexico (January 23rd, 2019)

National/International: 181 Countries Approve United Nations Global Pact for Refugees

(January 4th, 2019)

National/International: 164 Countries Approve UN Global Migration Pact (January 2nd, 2019)

International/ National: Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets Used Against Migrants at U.S. Mexico Border (November 27th, 2018)

National / International: First Migrant Caravan advances in Mexico; a person dies in the second caravan trying to enter; Trump announces operation «Faithful Patriot» to close US border (November 3, 2018)

Chiapas / National / International: Migrant Caravan about to enter Oaxaca (November 3, 2018)

National / International: Caravan of migrants from Honduras arrives in Mexico (October 22, 2018)

 

Chiapas: One Dead and Two Wounded in Latest Confrontation in Aldama – Chenalho Conflict

In the early hours of January 22nd, an attack by residents of Santa Martha, municipality of Chenalho, against their neighbors from Aldama who were going to their plots to work left one person dead and two wounded by bullets, as a result of the old conflict over the dispute of 60 hectares between the two municipalities, government sources reported.

As a consequence of this conflict, at least 2,036 people from communities bordering Santa Martha (Xuxch’en, Coco, Tabak and San Pedro Cotzilnam) are displaced in camps far from the disputed area.

According to the inhabitants of Aldama, in 2009, Santa Marta and Aldama signed an agreement to end the conflict, by which the inhabitants of the first community received from the state government one 1,300,000 thousand pesos. However, this agreement has been broken and the situation has been growing ever more violent since 2016.

In view of the most recent events, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights urged the Mexican State to “adopt effective measures to guarantee the life and personal integrity of the population of Aldama, especially of the communities located in the territorial limits with Manuel Utrilla , Chenalho, as well as the municipal seat; investigate, sanction, disarm and dismantle the armed groups of Santa Martha, Manuel Utrilla, Chenalho; address the humanitarian emergency of the displaced population in the Chiapas Highlands region, Mexico; and cancel arrest warrants that criminalize representatives of displaced families.”

For more information in Spanish:

Un muerto y dos heridos, saldo de agresión entre Chenalhó y Aldama (La Jornada, 22 de enero de 2019)

Nuevo ataque paramilitar en Aldama, Chiapas, un muerto y dos heridos (Regeneración, 22 de enero de 2019)

Un muerto y dos heridos deja añeja disputa de tierra entre tsotsiles de Aldama y Chenalhó (Alerta Chiapas, 22 de enero de 2019)

Acción Urgente : Persiste riesgo a la vida en comunidades desplazadas, en Aldama, Chiapas (CDH Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, 22 de enero de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Se necesita atención al Desplazamiento Forzado Interno en Chenalhó y Aldama, ataque armado deja dos jóvenes heridos (14 de enero de 2019)

Chiapas: Sigue la violencia entre Aldama y Chenalhó (5 de enero de 2019)

AMLO sobre el caso de Desplazamiento Forzado Interno en el Municipio de Aldama, Chiapas. (18 de diciembre de 2018)

Chiapas: Frayba Denounces New Attacks in Aldama and Demands End to Violence
(November 19th, 2018)

Chiapas :Se mantienen amenazas y desplazamiento forzado en Aldama ; Frayba lanza acción urgente (October 14th, 2018)

Chiapas : Persiste riesgo a la vida de indígenas tsotsiles en Aldama, denuncia el Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (April 26th, 2018)

Chiapas: Violence increases in the Highlands of Chiapas, 747 displaced and 3 dead in Aldama (May 10th, 2018)

 

National/International: New Migrant Caravans Arrive at Border; Others Advance through Mexico

@El Sol de Mexico

On January 22nd, several groups of migrants were on their way through Mexico to the US while thousands of migrants were still waiting at the border for their Visitor for Humanitarian Reasons Card that would allow them to cross the country legally. As of Monday, the Migration Institute of Mexico had registered 6,791 applications in total, 5,323 from Hondurans, 658 from Salvadorans, 632 from Guatemalans and 139 from Nicaraguans. A small number also came from Haiti, Brazil and Cuba. As of Monday, the number already exceeded 7,000 applications. Apart from the adult applicants, there are also hundreds of children and young people in the group, some of them traveling alone. During their wait at the border, the Mexican government made available a migrant shelter and an improvised shelter, where migrants can stay. The same day, the Mexican government and the immigration authorities had already delivered the first cards.

Although there is the option of staying in Mexico, working and accessing the health system and the education system, most migrants still aspire to reach the United States. Getting the card is more of a measure to reach their destination faster and more easily, because “it’s better if they do not bother us on the road”, said one migrant. In addition to these groups, it is estimated that there are around 2,000 migrants who are crossing the country without immigration papers, since they decided not to wait five days to obtain the card and an official permit.

The first group to enter, composed of some 500 people, has already arrived in the municipality of San Pedro Tapanatepec in Oaxaca. There it was not only seen that this caravan is more dispersed than the first one with smaller groups and faster advances, but also that civil society and the church have stopped distributing humanitarian aid as was seen in 2018.

With Trump criticizing Mexico for its handling of the situation, an anger or an indifference growing among the Mexican population and thousands more migrants arriving from Honduras and other Central American countries, the outlook remains bleak.

For more information in Spanish:

Caravana migrante llega a Oaxaca (Excelsior, el 20 de enero de 2019)

Llega caravana migrante a frontera de México con Guatemala (El Universal, el 21 de enero de 2019)

Caravana Migrante, paso a paso el recorrido por México hasta EU (El sol de México, el 22 de enero de 2019)

Nueva caravana de migrantes anhela cruzar a México con la esperanza de llegar a Estados Unidos (Azteca America, el 21 de enero de 2019)

La caravana migrante prosigue su duro viaje por el sureste de México (Infobae, el 20 de enero de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/International: New Migrant Caravan Reaches Mexico (January 23rd, 2019)

National/International: 181 Countries Approve United Nations Global Pact for Refugees

(January 4th, 2019)

National/International: 164 Countries Approve UN Global Migration Pact (January 2nd, 2019)

International/ National: Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets Used Against Migrants at U.S. Mexico Border (November 27th, 2018)

National / International: First Migrant Caravan advances in Mexico; a person dies in the second caravan trying to enter; Trump announces operation «Faithful Patriot» to close US border (November 3, 2018)

Chiapas / National / International: Migrant Caravan about to enter Oaxaca (November 3, 2018)

National / International: Caravan of migrants from Honduras arrives in Mexico (October 22, 2018)

 

 

Chiapas: Destruction of Camps and Threats to Tsotsil Population in Forced Displacement

On December 23, 2018, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center published this Urgent Action:

New forced displacements in Chalchihuitán, Chiapas

Destruction of camps and threats to Tsotsil population as forced displacement increases conditions of vulnerability and risks for 1,146 people.

Nine camps which housed internally displaced people in Chalchihuitán, Chiapas, were destroyed on December 21, 2018, between 14:00 and 17:00 hours, approximately, in a context of aggression on the part of Hermelindo García Núñez, Municipal Union of Chalchiuitán, member of the National Action Party.

238 displaced families in the Barrio Shishimtotik, Tulantik, Ch’enmut, Bololchojon, Cruz K’ak’anam, Jolcantetik, Cruzton, Bejelton, and Barrio Pom camps lost the few belongings they had in the houses made of plastic, wood, and some with sheets. They also demolished toilets built with donations from solidarity organizations such as Caritas.

The population, mostly women and children, moved again after the aggression and intimidation. Families have lent them spaces, but there have been threats to expel anyone from their community if they help displaced people in this way. Testimonies say that community authorities prohibited humanitarian access, and threatened to tie up and burn representatives of the Chalchihuite Committee, as well as anyone who tries to enter the demolished camps.

At least 1,237 people remain in forced displacement in Chalchihuitán, Chiapas, in conditions of vulnerability and risk, without being able to return to their homes because their land is on the edge of the conflict where armed groups from Chenalhó continue to fire weapons which intensify in the early hours of the morning.

More than a year after the massive forced displacement of communities of Tsotsil people of Chalchihuitán, Chiapas, the situation remains serious and human rights violations continue due to the failure of the Mexican State. The government of Chiapas fails to comply with international commitments to care for and protect displaced people and violates precautionary measure No. 882-17 granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on February 24, 2018, “to guarantee the rights of members of indigenous peoples in a situation of risk to the life, safety, and personal integrity of the 10 displaced communities since November 2017.

For this reason, we demand that the Mexican State:

Guarantee the safety, integrity, and life of the population in forced displacement in Chalchihuitán, Chiapas.

Stop the threats and aggression coming from Hermelindo García Núñez, Municipal Union of Chalchiuitán, against representatives of the Chalchihuite Committee.

In accordance with the Guiding Principles on Forced Displacement of the United Nations, deal comprehensively with the forced displacement in Chalchihuitán, Chiapas.

We ask national and international solidarity to send your appeals to:

C. Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Presidente Constitucional de México     Residencia Oficial de los Pinos. Casa Miguel Alemán. Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850 Ciudad de México. Fax: (+52) 55 5093 4901:Twitter: @lopezobrador_

Lic.Olga Sánchez Cordero. Secretaria de Gobernación de México                              Bucareli 99, 1er. piso. Col. Juárez. Delegación Cuauhtémoc;  C.P. 06600 Ciudad de México. Fax: (+52) 55 5093 34 14; Correo:secretario@segob.gob.mx: Twitter: @M_OlgaSCordero

Lic. Luis Raúl González Pérez. Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Edificio “Héctor Fix Zamudio”, Blvd. Adolfo López Mateos 1922, 6°piso. Col. Tlacopac San Ángel. Delegación Álvaro Obregón. C.P. 01040; Ciudad de México.              Fax: (+52) 0155 36 68 07 67: Correo: correo@cndh.org.mx : Twitter: @CNDH

Lic. Rutilio Escandón Cadenas. Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Chiapas Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, 1er Piso Av. Central y Primera Oriente, Colonia Centro, C.P. 29009. Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México                                                Fax: +52 961 61 88088 – + 52 961 6188056; Extensión 21120. 21122;                              Correo: secparticular@chiapas.gob.mx: Twitter: @JuntoscnRutilio

Lic. Ismael Brito Mazariegos. Secretario General de Gobierno en Chiapas: Palacio De Gobierno, 2o. Piso, Centro C.P. 29000 Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas. Conmutador: (961) 61 8 74 60 Ext. 20003: Correo: secretariaparticular.sgg@gmail.com

Lic. Alonso Méndez Guzmán. Subsecretario de Gobierno de la Región V. Altos Tsotsil-Tseltal: Francisco I. Madero No. 101, Barrio Guadalupe C.P. 29200 San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. Teléfono: 01 (967) 67 465 94 Fax: 01 (967) 67 465 94

C. Margarita Díaz García. Presidente Municipal de Chalchihuitán                                Avenida Central S/N, Palacio Municipal C.P. 29850 Chalchihuitán, Chiapas.              Teléfono: (01 919) 10 1-10-28 o Teléfono: 9671245086

 

For more information in Spanish:

Denuncia el Frayba la destrucción de 9 campamentos de desplazados (La Jornada, 24 de diciembre de 2018)

Destruyen nueve campamentos de mujeres e infantes en Chalchihuitán(Regeneración, 24 de diciembre de 2018)

Destruyen campamentos de 238 familias tsotsiles desplazadas en Chiapas(Contralínea, 24 de diciembre de 2018)

Navidad en Chiapas: destruyen 9 campamentos con 1146 indígenas, la mayoría mujeres, niñas y niños (Sin Embargo, 25 de diciembre de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: displaced families from Banavil return to their home to celebrate the Day of the Dead (November 3, 2018).

Chiapas: State Congress asks the government to address the issue of forced displacement; displaced people from Colonia Puebla return to San Cristóbal de Las Casas (October 30, 2018).

National: 20,390 Forcibly Displaced in 2017 – Over 329,900 in the Last 12 Years (May 11, 2018).

 

National/International: First Migrant Caravans Reach US Border

Migrant Caravan arrives in Tijuana (@Animal Político)

In mid-November, the first contingents of caravans of Central American migrants who arrived in Mexico last month with the aim of reaching the border with the United States began arriving in Tijuana.

“I do not dare to describe them as migrants (…) They are a bunch of vagrants and marijuana users,” said Tijuana mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum on their arrival, complaining to the media that the Mexican government “has not done its job” and that “the tranquility and security of Tijuana is being affected.” On November 14th, there was also an altercation between neighbors of Playas de Tijuana and Central Americans who had settled in that area of ​​the city. “Go away, go away!” some neighbors shouted.

They arrived in buses that have allowed them to cover a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers in a few days as the state governments of the so-called “Pacific Route” (Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa and Sonora), have accelerated the transit of migrants so that they did not remain in their states. The organization Pueblos Sin Fronteras expressed its concern over the integrity of the members of the caravan since they did not have access to water or food on trips of up to 48 hours by bus.

Even having arrived at the border, the uncertainty about the future of the caravan and those that are still on the way (which would still represent 6,000 more people) is maintained because although the objective of the migrants is for the US government to grant them refugee status due to the extreme violence and poverty living in their countries, to achieve this they must cross the border through official access, in accordance with a decree signed the previous week by President Donald Trump. By using unauthorized entry points, Central American migrants would be arrested, which would make them ineligible to remain in the country or seek asylum.

The Mexican secretary of the Interior, Alfonso Navarrete Prida, affirmed that the possibilities of entering the United States are “practically nil” and assured that the Mexican government will seek to prevent them from entering the country by force: “There is a huge risk of have an incident on the border line, when we have also heard the openly hostile speech of the US government,” he explained.

For more information in Spanish:

Integrantes de la segunda caravana migrante enfilan rumbo a Irapuato (Proceso, 17 de noviembre de 2018)

El alcalde de Tijuana arremete contra la caravana de emigrantes (El País, 17 de noviembre de 2018)

Cerca de 2.000 migrantes centroamericanos están en frontera México-EE.UU. (VO Noticias, 16 de noviembre de 2018)

Tijuana prepara plan para recibir a migrantes de caravanas (CNN México, 16 de noviembre de 2018)

Segunda caravana migrante se dirige hacia Querétaro (La Jornada, 16 de noviembre de 2018)

Grupo de migrantes centroamericanos llegó a Tijuana; vecinos de la zona protestaron por su presencia (Animal Político, 15 de noviembre de 2018)

Caravana de migrantes: Trump endurece las reglas de solicitud de asilo para los que crucen a Estados Unidos desde México (BBC, 9 de noviembre de 2018)

 

For more information from SIPAZ:

 

 

 

 

Nacional/Internacional : México, ¿filtro migratorio ? (15 de septiembre de 2018)

National / International: First Migrant Caravan advances in Mexico; a person dies in the second caravan trying to enter; Trump announces operation «Faithful Patriot» to close US border (November 3, 2018)

Chiapas / National / International: Migrant Caravan about to enter Oaxaca (November 3, 2018)

Chiapas/Nacional/Internacional : actualización sobre los avances del Éxodo migrante en México (25 de octubre de 2018)

National / International: Caravan of migrants from Honduras arrives in Mexico (October 22, 2018)

National / International: Mexico, migration filter? (September 21st, 2018)

Chiapas: Mass Forced Displacement in Chabajeval, Municipality El Bosque

(@Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights)

The crisis of internal forced displacement in the highlands of Chiapas reached a new peak on November 7th when, according to the parish priest of Simojovel, Marcelo Perez Perez, in the community of Chavajeval, municipality of El Bosque, almost all of the inhabitants of the town (about a thousand people according to the first estimates) fled from there after a conflict in which a 65-year-old man died. On the same day, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights reported that, “while a community assembly was held, there was an explosion and shots were later heard.”

Since that date, displaced people have sought refuge in various places, including in nearby mountains or in the town of El Bosque and in the municipalities of Chenalho, Chalchihuitan and San Cristobal de Las Casas.

Given the rumor that more displaced people were kidnapped in the community of Tierra Caliente, Father Marcelo confirmed that although there were 400 displaced people in this place, they were not kidnapped.

The root of the displacement derives from a conflict between the residents of the community whic “on October 24th, Miguel Perez Lopez, ejido commissioner of Chavajeval, and Carmelino de Jesus Ruiz Álvarez was ambushed and shot at, two more people they were injured,” Chiapas Paralelo states. The investigation of the case by the community authorities has generated tension and accusations among the different groups present in the community.

While it is unclear if there are conditions for a return for the coffee harvest given the risk of losing it, the situation of displacement (which affects all groups) remains critical: “Food corn, beans and medicine are needed. I invite you in your parishes and organizations to show solidarity in prayer and gathering food,” said Father Marcelo Perez.

Civil Protection of Chiapas informed through its Facebook page that it has delivered food and blankets to those affected.

Support can also be provided through CARITAS DE LA DIOCESIS DE SAN CRISTOBAL.

Bank details:

BANORTE

Account number: 0642624985

IBAN: 072130006426249855

ACCOUNT NAME: CARITAS DE SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS A.C.

For its part, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights urged the Mexican government to “guarantee the conditions to stop the escalation of violence in the community of Chavajebal, municipality of El Bosque, Chiapas”; to “favor dialogue and conciliation between the parties for the resolution of the conflict”; to “impartially and efficiently investigate the facts that led to the forced displacement of almost 2,000 people from the community of Chavajebal, municipality of El Bosque, Chiapas”; and to “address the humanitarian crisis situation in accordance with the Guiding Principles of the Forced Internal Displacement of the United Nations Organization and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples in a situation of vulnerability”.

For more information in Spanish:

Acción Urgente del Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: Se profundiza la crisis humanitaria de los Altos de Chiapas (13 de noviembre de 2018)

Párroco de Simojovel clama por ayuda para desplazados de Chavajeval, Chiapas (El Proceso, 13 de noviembre de 2018)

Suman tres muertos y casi mil personas desplazadas en Chavajebal (Chiapas Paralelo, 13 de noviembre de 2018)

Unos mil habitantes huyeron al monte en Chavajeval, Chiapas; la iglesia dice que hay hambruna (Sin Embargo, 13 de noviembre de 2018)

Habitantes de Chavajeval, Chiapas, enfrentan desplazamiento forzado (Proceso, 10 de noviembre de 2018)

Urge atención a desplazamiento en Chabajeval: Martín Ramírez (NVI, 10 de noviembre de 2018)

Detienen presuntos zapatistas involucrados en asesinato de autoridades de Chavajeval (Ultimatum, 7 de noviembre de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Frayba Denounces New Attacks in Aldama and Demands End to Violence (November 19th, 2018)

Chiapas: displaced families from Banavil return to their home to celebrate the Day of the Dead (November 3rd, 2018)

Chiapas: State Congress asks the government to address the issue of forced displacement; displaced people from Colonia Puebla return to San Cristóbal de Las Casas (October 30th, 2018)

Chiapas: Oportunidad de profundizar el tema del desplazamiento forzado en el Congreso del estado (October 24th, 2018)