Migrants begin hunger strike to pressure visas in southeastern Mexico

A group of 20 migrants who remain stranded awaiting documents from the authorities in the city mexican Tapachula (southeast), bordering Guatemala, began a hunger strike this Thursday to pressure the delivery of visas for humanitarian reasons.

The group is made up of 10 women and an equal number of men who come from countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, who placed a green ribbon on their right arm, as a protest, since the authorities do not provide them with immigration documents.

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The Venezuelan Estela Méndez explained that the hunger strike “is in favor of all migrants, so that they are allowed to move freely throughout Mexico.”

“For us and for me this hunger strike will be worth it because he who persists and has God first can do everything,” he added.

The group of migrants pointed out to the media that they are not criminals, but people who seek well-being for their families.

“We need an urgent humanitarian visa, we do not want to bother Mexico, we thank Mexico, Mexicans are great people, but we only ask that they let us pass so as not to bother or inconvenience anyone and we ask that they give us all papers,” said the Guatemalan Dora.

This Thursday afternoon, the migrants protested in front of the main access to the immigration regulation offices of the National Migration Institute (INM) of Mexico, where they launched slogans such as “We want visas, we want visas!” and “The people united will never be defeated!”

Outside the building and in front of a group of Haitians, the migrants lamented that the institute does not pay attention to their requests and keeps them stranded waiting for documents.

Dozens of Central American migrants request documents to transit through Mexican territory, in the city of Tapachula in the state of Chiapas (Mexico). (Photo: EFE/ Juan Manuel Blanco). (Juan Manuel Blanco/)

Betzabe, a migrant from Honduras, said that she opted for a hunger strike because they “don’t let them leave Tapachula” and “threaten” them that they are going to arrest them.

For his part, the director of the organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras, Irineo Mujica, announced that they will accompany the hunger strike and will stay with the group indefinitely.

“We joined of our own free will, so we ask the National Migration Institute for a prompt resolution; today we spoke with the head of this institution, Paola Rodas, who argued that she does not have the resolution capacity to attend to what the migrants ask for, ”she said.

He warned that the migrants seek to organize a caravan, but if there is a disposition of the authorities, this migratory flow would not have to leave.

“We do not rule out making the caravan, but we ask the federal government for a solution, Mujica said and pointed out that another dialogue with Rodas could possibly take place this Friday.

This Thursday morning, some 3,000 migrants gathered in front of the INM regularization offices in Tapachula to demand documents that allow them to transit through Mexican territory.

Dozens of Central American migrants begin an indefinite hunger strike to request humanitarian visas, in the city of Tapachula, state of Chiapas (Mexico). (EFE/ Juan Manuel Blanco). (Juan Manuel Blanco/)

Since Wednesday, the marches and protests have been reactivated in this city by thousands of migrants of at least 10 nationalities.

Throughout 2021, several migrant caravans with thousands of people departed from Tapachula, although the vast majority were stopped and dismantled by the Mexican security forces.

The region is experiencing a record flow to the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants on the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2021, which ended on September 30.

Mexico deported more than 114,000 foreigners in 2021, according to data from the Migration Policy Unit of the country’s Ministry of the Interior.

In addition, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) received a record 131,448 refugee applications in 2021. Of these, more than 51,000 are Haitians.

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Source: Elcomercio