Migrants, primarily from Haiti, created chaos at an asylum office in Tapachula, Mexico, as they demanded papers on Monday. Overwhelmed by frustration and desperation, the migrants forcibly entered the office, pushing past National Guard officers and police. Although no injuries were reported, some migrants were trampled in the rush to enter.
Asylum claims in Mexico have skyrocketed this year, surpassing 100,000 so far. The surge in numbers has led to long waiting times for appointments at the Tapachula office, which is located near the Guatemalan border. Frustrated crowds of migrants, including individuals from Cuba and Honduras, have had to wait for weeks to file their asylum claims.
While the asylum office, managed by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid, is intended for individuals to seek asylum in Mexico, many migrants hope to use the obtained papers to facilitate safer and easier travel to the U.S. border.
Cuban migrant Miguel Argoten expressed the challenges faced by those waiting at the office, stating, “It’s very complicated, there are too many people here, the Haitians get desperate, they knock over the barricades and that only makes the process slower.” Argoten had been waiting for a week to initiate the asylum application process.
Mexico is on track to receive more asylum applications this year than ever before, putting immense strain on the governments of several Latin American countries along the migratory route. Andres Ramirez Silva, the director of Mexico’s refugee agency, warned that asylum applications could reach 150,000 this year, surpassing the previous record of 129,000 in 2021.
The increasing pace of asylum claims has led to unruly incidents at the Tapachula office, prompting the deployment of National Guard officers. Ramirez Silva highlighted that Cubans, Haitians, and Hondurans account for approximately 80% of the asylum applications at the office and stressed the need for additional resources to cope with the influx.
Sources:
– Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid
– Andres Ramirez Silva, Director of Mexico’s Refugee Agency
