Passage Through Mexico: The Global Migration to the United States Nina Lakhani - The Guardian
go to original September 6, 2016

While waiting in Tapachula for US exit permits, African and Asian migrants recount the treacherous journeys they took to get one step closer to a new home. (Encarni Pindado/The Guardian)

The sun has barely risen and already hundreds of migrants are gathered outside the massive white and green immigration detention center, hoping to get through its gates.

Most have traveled thousands of miles on foot, by boat and bus from South America, but few here speak Spanish. In front of the locked gates near Mexico’s southern border, it’s an eclectic mix of French, English, Creole, Urdu, Lingala and Somali.

This eclectic crowd is part of a huge surge in African and Asian migrants traversing the Americas in hope of a better life in the US. The circuitous passage means paying thousands of dollars to coyotes – or people smugglers – to cross 10 countries, where overcrowded fishing boats, mosquito-infested jungles, armed bandits and immigration agents await.

Despite the dangers, around 7,882 Africans and Asians presented themselves at Mexican immigration in the first seven months of this year – 86% higher than in the whole of 2015 and more than four times the number registered in 2014. At the end of August, Tapachula’s immigration registered 424 Africans in just two days.

Over the past decade, Latin America has become an increasingly popular route of entry to the US for Asian and African migrants, but the current surge in numbers in unprecedented.

The numbers are still tiny compared to the roughly 200,000 Central Americans fleeing violence and poverty, but the treacherous route crossing Latin America is becoming increasingly popular as people from across the world seek new ways to reach the US.

The vast majority arrive in the city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border, without a visa or even a passport. But unlike Central Americans, these migrants can obtain a temporary travel document which allows them to continue unimpeded to the US border since Mexico has no deportation agreements with their countries.

Read the rest at The Guardian

Related: Human Remains, Belongings Mark Migrants' Treacherous Trails to U.S. (NBC News)

Related: What I Learned About Illegal Immigrants on US-Mexico Border (Daily O)

Related: Storefront Notarios Victimize New Immigrants, Prompting an L.A. Fraud Clampdown (LA Weekly)

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