Manolo Loan, migratory researcher in Mexico; and Maria Theresa Palaciosmigration expert and director of the Human Rights Research Group at the Universidad del Rosario, in Colombia, spoke about the risks faced by those who decide to cross irregularly into the United States.
(Also read: Illegal migration: the journey of a couple and their baby to enter the US)
Préstamo, a graduate in international relations and affairs from the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, warns that Mexico has opted to militarize the country and in exchange for political benefits has given up being the wall that Donald Trump wanted so much.
(You may be interested in: El Hueco: story of a Colombian kidnapped and tricked by a coyote in the US)
How is the situation in Mexico?
Since the administration of Donald Trump came into force, the entire immigration system in the United States collapsed, in counties, in municipalities, and many raids began. All this affects the border, Mexico was not prepared for so many deportations and so diversified.
What we are seeing now, after the end of the pandemic, is that there are excessive flows and there are peaks of people in transit throughout the country that we had never registered in Mexico.
Mexican authorities and institutions do not have the capacity to ensure their welfare, transfers to their countries and follow up on all their cases.
What we are seeing now, after the end of the pandemic, is that there are excessive flows and there are peaks of people in transit throughout the country that we had never registered in Mexico. And this is added to the fact that there is no preparation in the responsible institutions such as the National Institute of Migration and Comar.
There is no way to monitor or provide humanitarian assistance when Mexico was historically characterized by its help to migrants.
The flows have diversified. Today Venezuela and Colombia are already among the 10 countries that most request asylum.
(We invite you to read the multimedia special: Illegal migration of Colombians: life in the hands of ‘coyotes’)
What are the risks they face along the way?
Most of the migrants from South and Central America arrive through the southern border, in Chiapas; others, through Quintana Roo, in Cancun.
In Tapalucha, a city near Guatemala, La Bestia passes, a cargo train that crosses the entire country of Mexico and is very iconic. What the migrants do is try to climb to the roof as best they can. It’s very dangerous.
Migrants risk taking these routes and unfortunately many end up missing or in the hands of human trafficking or even kidnapped.
Migrants arrive in the center of the country, in Mexico City. This train passes through the south of the country and the entire coast of Mexico, such as Veracruz, Tamaulipas and others, where there is a presence of organized crime and Mexican cartels.
Migrants take the risk of taking these routes and unfortunately many end up missing or in the hands of human trafficking or even kidnapped and then go asking for ransom from their relatives.
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There are ‘polleros’ or ‘coyotes’ who are dedicated to transporting migrants in buses and cargo trucks. They are overcrowded and some even die from high temperatures, in the north of the country they can reach 40 to 45 degrees. Tours are usually done at the end of the day to reach Tijuana, Sonora or Tamaulipas. On that route, they then cross the Sonoran desert or the Rio Grande.
These crossings are heroic because beyond the walls or the border are the high temperatures, crossing the desert without water, without food. Many of them end up dying from these conditions and after that, the hunt for border patrols, drones and trucks, some of them are killed on the way.
The Government has gone from receiving and accompanying migrants on their journeys to criminalizing mobility. This has caused migrants, instead of taking the traditional “safe” routes, to opt for others. Today you see small caravans of migrants, of 100 people, so to speak, lost in Puebla, Veracruz, Michoacán, among others, and each one of them goes blind because they cannot take these routes.
A person approaches them and tells them that for 5,000 dollars they will cross you and they accept out of desperation and end up in the hands of human traffickers, kidnapped or murdered.
How is the situation in Mexicali?
Mexicali is on the border, it is the capital of Baja California in northern Mexico. It is an area with a high population density of immigrants, mainly Colombians, Venezuelans, Haitians and Asians. And therefore, highly trafficked by ‘polleros’ or ‘coyotes’.
Migrant camps have become a space for abuses, scams and human rights violations.
How do refuge centers operate?
Normally those who administer these spaces are the United Nations, UNHCR, civil society and the Catholic Church. They are responsible for providing asylum, food, information and health services.
Due to the little budget that the federal government gives, they work with around 300% capacity.
It is very sad because the diplomatic tradition that Mexico previously had was of assistance and humanitarian and today what we are seeing on the borders is militarization, siege and human rights violations.
María Teresa Palacios, expert in international migration and director of the Human Rights Research Group
Has the migration of Colombians to other countries increased?
Historically, Colombia has been a country of migration, but not in the volume that is being presented today.
From a historical perspective, Colombia is indeed a country of migration, but it does not occupy the first places. It is ranked 85th out of 193 countries in the United Nations. However, we are not in the first line of the countries that expel the most people from its territory.
How have the dynamics of migration changed?
Irregular passages are normally those places where there are porous borders. For example, when Venezuela was an attractive country for Colombians, they crossed the border through Cúcuta and Villa del Rosario. The Darién, moreover, has not only been characterized by the migration of Cubans or people from Asia or Africa, but also by the Colombians themselves who are looking for that “American dream”.
The United States has always been a very attractive destination for Colombians, who are driven by economic opportunity and economic crisis. In the 1990s, Ecuador also joined.
What modalities do they find and what are the risks?
Among the risks associated with migration are several transnational crimes. One of these is migrant smuggling.
The smuggler is not only interested in the person paying him for crossing the border, in general, deception is involved. In human trafficking there are many associated behaviors, such as servile marriage, prostitution, human rights violations, deceptive job offers, slavery, among others.
What are the main ages of those who decide to migrate?
That young man, between 20 and 40 years old, decides to venture out to try to find better living conditions.
In Latin American migration there is a constant. They are generally young people who have greater opportunities due to the labor force. That young man, between 20 and 40 years old, decides to venture out to try to find better living conditions.
It is very important to understand that migration moves in networks. It is difficult for a migrant to reach a place where there is no support, where there is no acquaintance or relative, even if it is distant.
What are people who arrive in the United States irregularly exposed to?
Any immigration authority can expel them automatically. That is a first risk, being returned to the territory of origin. The second risk is to be victims of job insecurity and exploitation for being irregular.
The United States has an aggravating circumstance and that is that it is not part of the Labor Protection Convention for Foreigners, which even covers irregular persons. That is a United Nations treaty, where even a person who is irregular should have the same treatment as a national regarding his working conditions. In this country that provision does not make any sense because they have not ratified this treaty and within their internal legislation they are very restrictive.
What is lacking? What should Colombia and the United States work on?
The issue of migration is one of internal sovereignty of the countries. Countries decide how they configure their immigration policy and that implies that they establish who can be admitted to their territory, who is asked for a visa, under what conditions and what are the requirements.
Within the point of view of human rights, one of the main gaps that require regulation is precisely migration policies. The states retain a high degree of discretion, they absolutely do not consult anyone and they are not obliged to make agreements.
The solution is more a matter of global awareness, of understanding that migration is a reality and is inevitable. People, no matter how much they put policemen and a high wall, they are not going to limit them.
The States have deeply rooted the concept of nationality, of who is the citizen and of seeing the foreigner as a suspect, as a criminal, who comes to steal opportunities and generate economic costs.
ANGY ALVARADO RODRIGUEZ
ELTIEMPO.COM
[email protected]
Twitter: @angyalvarador
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