Rise in Both Refugees and Internal Displacement Seen in Mexico Tadgh McNally - Irish Examiner
go to original January 09, 2024

A woman gathers her belongings in front of a mural of Joseph and Mary at the CAFEMIN migrant shelter in Mexico City. (Rhina Guidos/GSR)

At a crowded migration center in Mexico City, families sleep on mats on the floor of a former gym.

While the building is only meant to accommodate 100 people, there are currently 600 people living in the crowded facility.

This is the Cafemin Migration Center, which is located in Gustavo A Madero near the famous Basilica de Guadalupe.

While it had initially been opened in 2012 to host female refugees, in recent years it has opened its doors to everyone seeking refuge.

Across the main courtyard of the old school building, hundreds of children play while clothes are being handed out by people staffing the center.

Cooking is carried out by the refugees, with one of the cooks being a young 21-year-old man from Honduras, who arrived at the center by himself at age 18.

Like many countries in the world, migration into Mexico has increased significantly in recent years, with the country among the top five in the world for asylum seekers, shows data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In 2023 alone, 140,812 asylum seekers entered the country. In the last three years, 390,768 asylum applications have been lodged by those entering the country.

These figures are unlikely to be the true figures for migration into the country due to the work of cartels and people smugglers bringing people in through underground routes, which are much more dangerous.

It is estimated that people-smuggling cartels can make $8bn-$10bn a year by bringing people into Mexico.

Read the rest at Irish Examiner

Related: As Shelters Squeeze in Migrants, Sisters in Mexico City Offer ‘Another Nazareth' (NCR)

Related: Mexican President Demands Work Visas, $20B in US Aid to Help Curb Illegal Immigration, Reports Say (TND)

Related: Migrant Caravan Regroups in Mexico After Government Promise of Papers Falls Through (Associated Press)

Related: Vote: Do You Believe the Situation at the U.S.-Mexico Border Is a Crisis? (TND)

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