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Hundreds of Central American migrants Refugees from their home countries flooded the offices of the National Institute of Migration (INM) on Mexico’s southern border to expedite and verify their CBP One appointments to seek asylum in the United States days before that country’s elections. country.

César Augusto Cañaveral Pérez, coordinator of the pastoral program for human mobility in Tapachula, explained EFE that demand for the CBP One app has caused an increase in migration flows in this area of ​​the country in recent weeks.

Mainly because these were procedures that were carried out in the USA and are now carried out in the INM offices, in Tapachula, Chiapas.

“Because of (the request of) this application it is overcrowded, because of this application (it is) growing More than 80% of the population lives“Cañaveral Perez said.

Moreover, he decried that this increase in flow has also led to an increase in the number of deaths and extortions against migrants, as well as the fact that organized crime and violence in this area have increased and caused many foreigners to stop their passage to the United States due to fear of becoming a victim of crime.

Cañaveral Perez asked the new government to strengthen security, support migrants and make their procedures more flexible so they can continue to make their way to the northern border.

They ask for order

These migrant groups, mainly from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, They come in disarray and create chaos near the Tapachula and INM public safety offices.

This is why female migration agents and civil protection officers in the region have to deal with these flows of migrants in order to be able to sort them and transfer them to offices.

Ruben Ruiz, a migrant from Venezuela, estimates that between 1,000 and 1,200 people enter INM centers every day, seeking, with the help of immigration authorities, to leave Tapachula and pass through Mexico safely and legally.

“We are doing well, we were ordered to move forward little by little. Yes, (there are) many people of many nationalities, now there are five nationalities that enter through CBP One, so there is such a congestion (…) the conditions do not correspond to the number of people we are arriving,” he assured.

Nelson Armando Cruz, a migrant from Nicaragua, noted that there are many Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans, and to a lesser extent Central Americans, who have left their countries to seek better life opportunities in Mexico and the United States.

“You see the dictatorship, you know all over the world which countries (…) in Nicaragua throw (put) bishops in prison (…) We thank the Mexican people who behaved very well with us,” he said.

Edouard is another Venezuelan who, along with thousands of people, is in Tapachula and has asked that they be given more attention and that the queues be arranged by date to avoid crowding and confusion.

These queues of hundreds of migrants also include people from Central America and some Middle Eastern countries who are lobbying the government to encourage them to travel to the United States rather than risk it.

Thousands of displaced people continue to arrive in Mexico every day, and more than 700,000 people were arrested between January and July 2024, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

The developments come after a 193% year-on-year increase in illegal migration through Mexico to a record high of more than 712,000, according to the government’s migration policy office.

EFE