Mexican Officials Telling Migrants to Avoid Mountains and Deserts, ‘Not Worth It’ Salvador Rivera - Border Report
go to original July 27, 2023

Moments after rescuers from Grupo Beta found Laura and her family of five who are originally from Colombia. (Mexico’s Institute of Migration)

Mexico’s National Institute of Migration, known in Mexico as INM, is asking migrants to forgo their attempts to illegally cross the border, especially if it involves a hike or trek over mountains or deserts.

“We have rescues almost daily,” said David Perez Tejada, INM director in Tijuana.

Perez Tejada made these comments a few days ago after a family of five had been rescued in the mountains east of Tijuana and just south of U.S. territory.

The family had been walking for six hours when their guide told them to wait while he went ahead to get water.

“This is when we found out we had been abandoned,” said Laura in English.

Laura and her family from Colombia, including her four-year-old son, had paid $1,000 a piece to be escorted over the rocky terrain into the U.S.

“They told us it would be a 40-minute hike, then they said another 30 and then another 30,” said Laura. “My son asked me, ‘mom are we going to die?’ I didn’t even know how to respond knowing we probably weren’t going to make it.”

Somehow their call for help was received, and a search was launched. It took 14 hours for rescuers to find them.

“We know migrants cling to their dreams of making it across the border and into the U.S. but it’s not worth it,” said Perez Tejada.

He said they are constantly warning migrants to avoid risking their lives and not to cross in rural, unforgiving terrain.

“We even warn them to avoid trying to scale the border barriers. Too many people get injured or die.”

Read the rest at Border Report

Related: US and Mexico Reach New Agreement on Non-Mexican Asylum Seekers (Mexico News Daily)

Related: Migrant Deaths Will Fall if U.S. Expands Asylum Opportunities, Activists Say (Border Report)

Related: Joint Statement from Mexico and the United States on Shared Efforts to Combat Illicit Fentanyl, Disrupt Arms Trafficking, and Humanely Manage Migration (Homeland Security Today)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!