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Mexico has allowed tens of thousands of people to cross the region to the American border since early April, government data show, a major uptick ahead of the expiration of a U.S. immigration measure that makes most migrants unable to claim asylum in the country. United States of America.
The increase comes as local aid and migrant groups say that in recent weeks, people heading north have found it easier to cross into Mexico from Guatemala, the main route to the United States, with Mexican security forces abandoning some posts in the south of the country. border.
The jump in people allowed to cross into Mexico, coupled with a reduced security footprint, may have contributed to the overwhelming number of migrants gathering at the U.S.-Mexico border as the Biden administration prepared Thursday night to lift the pandemic-era restrictions known as Title 42 that allow the U.S. quickly expel those who try to cross the border illegally.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute of Migration did not respond to requests for comment on changes in the government’s immigration policy.
Local aid workers, however, say the expiration of public health measures may increase the number of migrants arriving at Mexico’s southern border.
“We don’t know if it’s just Title 42 related, but it seems like there are more migrants here than usual,” said Miguel Barrera, field coordinator at the International Rescue Committee in Tapachula, a city near the southern Mexican border.
From April 2 to May 3, almost 30,000 humanitarian visas were issued to migrants in the state of Chiapas, which shares the border with Guatemala, according to figures released by Mexico’s National Migration Institute, more than three times the monthly average in the first three months year.
These visas allow migrants to travel within the country, purchase bus and plane tickets, and cross the United States border.
The Mexican government has long issued thousands of these documents to migrants, especially those coming from countries like Haiti and Venezuela that are experiencing humanitarian crises.
But the number of visas has risen sharply in the past month as authorities grant people who ask, according to local humanitarian groups. Instead of detaining migrants without proper documents, as they have been doing, migration authorities direct them to the park on the edge of Tapachula to start the visa process.
On Wednesday, Raul Ortiz, the chief of the US Border Patrol, said he did not believe the increase in visas issued contributed to the development at the border.
In stark contrast to normal operations, migration authorities in southern Mexico have also reduced military migration enforcement over the past month. Some road checkpoints have been temporarily lifted and regular migration in Tapachula has stopped, according to local aid groups.
Since 2018, when President Donald J. Trump then threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican imports if the country does not stop migration, Mexico has worked in a key step with the US authorities in deterrence, mobilizing up to 28,000 National Guard troops to detain migrants.
In 2022, Mexican authorities detained more than 444,000 migrants, the highest ever.
Nowhere is this work more visible than in Tapachula. Migration checkpoints are usually located on every major road leading out of the city to try to stop people without proper travel documentation. The Siglo XXI migrant detention center, the largest in the country and often criticized by humanitarian groups for human rights violations, often doubles its 960 capacity.
But on Monday morning, the facility was empty, police officers at the entrance told the New York Times.
In a sprawling tropical park on the outskirts of Tapachula, thousands of migrants are waiting for the visa process to resume after a weekend hiatus. They jostled in line as the morning sun pushed the temperature above 90 degrees. Local vendors sell water, shaved ice and SIM cell phone cards to foreigners who can pay.
Most of the migrants are from Central America, Venezuela, Ecuador and Haiti, but others have traveled the globe, from countries like China and Angola. Many come with their entire families, including small children and babies.
“I saw two news online that said come here for a visa,” said Moroni Padilla, 42, from El Salvador. “Sometimes you don’t know if you can trust what you hear, but I had to see for myself.”
A migration official who was not authorized to speak on the record told The Times that the agency does not detain migrants in the area and instead directs them to the park to apply for visas. He would not say why or who gave him the new guidance.
Migration officials declined to comment on the change in enforcement strategy in the region.
In Ciudad Hidalgo, 20 miles south of Tapachula on the Suchiate River that marks the border with Guatemala, Mexican government patrols have stopped for most of the past month, according to local vendors who bring goods and migrants across the river. A handful of migration agents sat at a table in the shade playing cards.
Humanitarian groups in Chiapas say change is coming slowly after a March 27 fire at a detention center in Ciudad Juárez killed 39 people trapped in cells. Several high-level officials of the National Migration Institute, including the agency’s head, Francisco Garduño Yáñez, have been charged with crimes related to the fire. Officials have not made an official statement about the policy change following the fire.
“Not only now but historically it is difficult to understand the strategy or the motivation behind it,” said Mr. Barrera, of the International Rescue Committee.
Aid groups say they are scrambling for basic care for the ballooning number of migrants. Temperatures can exceed 100 degrees in southern Mexico, which can cause dehydration and heat stroke.
Hundreds of people were left outside in torrential rain Monday night without shelter, fearing they would lose their visa spots if they left.
For most people trying to reach the United States, these elements are not a barrier when they have the rare opportunity to travel freely through Mexico.
“God willing, we can go to the United States in the next few days,” said Freiver Parra, 27, from Venezuela, minutes after receiving his visa.
He was traveling with his wife, Kariana, 24, and their 6-year-old daughter, Ehilys. He knew Title 42 was over but it wasn’t clear what that meant. And they have lost sight of all the rumors about US immigration policy floating around the migrant route.
“You can’t believe what people say,” he said. “I will have to see what happened with my own eyes, and then we will decide what to do.”
Eileen Sullivan contributed reports from El Paso.
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