Mexico Is Even Less Prepared Than the US to Handle Central American Immigrants Ana Campoy - Quartz
go to original November 12, 2015

In response to massive migration of Central Americans through Mexico en route to the U.S., Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled the Southern Border Program. The aim was ostensibly to protect the human rights of migrants, often subject to extortion by immigration officials and organized crime, and promote regional development and security. Critics say little has changed and that deportations of Central American migrants are up 70% in the past year. Clayton Conn reports from Mexico City. (teleSUR English)

As a wave of Central American immigrants overwhelmed the US last year, overcrowding detention centers and clogging up the court system, US officials sought help from Mexico to curb the flow.

Now it’s Mexico that is largely dealing with the influx of migrants who continue to flee north to escape violence and poverty in their home countries. And in Mexico, those immigrants often fare worse than in the US, according to a new report from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human-rights advocacy group.

Mexican officials have fewer resources to house immigrants and to process their asylum claims. There are also fewer nonprofits offering legal help. As a result, many of the Central Americans who are caught in Mexico are quickly turned back to their countries, even if they qualify for refugee status, says Maureen Meyer, a senior associate at WOLA.

“Everything that is problematic in the US is almost compounded in Mexico,” she tells Quartz.

Mexico aggressively stepped up enforcement along its southern border after thousands of Central American families and unaccompanied children illegally crossed the US-Mexico border last summer. The effort, which is partly funded by the US, has rendered noticeable results: The number of apprehensions of Central Americans in Mexico jumped by 71% between July 2014 and June 2015 from the previous year, according the WOLA report. Meanwhile, US officials are stopping fewer Central American migrants.



Read the rest at Quartz

Related: Mexico Deported 24,000 Hondurans in 6 Months (teleSUR)

Related: 'Mexico's Southern Border Plan Fuels Violence' (Insight Crime)

Related: Mexico Border Crackdown Endangers Migrants: Report (teleSUR)

Related: John Kasich and Donald Trump Spar Over Immigration Policy at Fox Business GOP Debate (Policy.Mic)

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