Asylum requests in Mexico increased by 30% in 2023

Mexico’s Commission to Aid Refugees (Comar) reports a year-on-year increase of 30% from January to August 2023, when nearly 100,000 applicants were registered, a situation that keeps the southern border saturated.

Cuban, Haitian and Honduran migrants are the main foreigners who have gathered in search of political asylum in Tapachula, on the border of Mexico with Guatemala, where Comar deals with break-ins, long queues and the delivery of documents with the support of the National Guard.

Daladier Anzueto, regional coordinator of Comar, reiterated his prediction that the request record will be broken and that 150,000 people will be served in 2023.

“Since two months ago, there has been an increase of almost 2,000 people per day, this requires effort, our colleagues have to work 12 hours a day, they come at seven in the morning and leave at seven at night,” he said officially.

Migration wave
The migration flow through Mexico has recovered after an initial drop caused last May by the expiration of Title 42 of the United States, which was acknowledged by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The exodus is visible in Central America, where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned of a “historic number” of more than 18,300 migrants who passed through the municipality of Danlí, one of Honduras’ border points with Nicaragua, last week.

Cuban Ariana de la Caridad Recio López, who arrived in the city a month and a half ago, noticed the arrival of thousands of migrants who filled the Comar offices.

This migrant in Cuba was a teacher of Spanish and literature, and now she dedicated herself to selling bread with a breastfed baby on the outskirts of Comar while she waits for her documents.

“Let them continue to stand in line because it is the only legal procedure in the country, it must be done in an organized manner, respecting the authorities and disciplined”, he recommended to his colleagues.

Tapachula concentrates between 50% and 60% of all asylum requests in Mexico, so this office faces more pressure.

Another of the migrants who arrived in Tapachula is her compatriot Giselis Magdaleno González, originally from Havana, who received political asylum in Mexico and managed to obtain her permanent residence, which is why she and her husband dedicate themselves to selling food. child.

“(Cubans are here) because they want to be nationalized here, they want to submit their papers to be here legally, to work to create a life, there are many Cubans, thousands of Cubans seeking political asylum,” he commented.

“It seems that they want to live here, many leave, others stay who want to move forward, not lose faith, continue their process so they don’t have any problems,” he added.

This migrant is a veterinarian by profession, and in Tapachula she owns a hamburger shop and says that her life is calmer and safer despite the influx of thousands of migrants

The Comar official emphasized that not all people arriving in the city are fully informed, as there is a large portion who want to cross this country to reach the United States, rather than stay in Mexico.