Mexico has asked the United States to review its immigration policy

Mexico on Friday asked the United States to review its immigration policy, a day after 55 illegal immigrants died in a car accident in the southern part of the country.

According to authorities, another 105 migrants have been injured, three of them seriously.

Most of the victims were Guatemalan nationals (95 of the injured), who were traveling hidden and stacked in the body of an overloaded truck, according to the Mexican National Guard.

The migrants were heading to Puebla, further north in Mexico, to reach the country’s border with the United States when the truck overturned on Thursday night on the highway near Tustla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas state, which borders Guatemala. .

“Anyone seeking a better life deserves security and dignity,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was “shocked” by the tragedy. Pope Francis also said he was “deeply saddened”.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for “deepening awareness” and for “deep problems” to be taken into account during a press conference. Immigrants from Central America and Haiti are crossing Mexico this year in record numbers aiming to reach the United States.

Lopez Obrador said he expressed his views on immigration during a meeting with US counterpart Joe Biden in mid-November. “It’s not a simple matter for President Biden,” he said.

“We will continue to say that the immigration problem cannot be solved by imposing coercive measures. Immigrants must be given job opportunities and prosperity,” he said.

From Mexico, the American ambassador assessed in his condolence message on Twitter that this tragedy “demonstrates why we persistently ask not to risk one’s life by choosing illegal immigration”.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), migrants need to be given “alternatives and legal avenues to prevent further tragedies like this”.

The crash happened on the day two immigrants were sent back to Mexico from the United States under a plan implemented by President Donald Trump and suspended by Joe Biden, but returned after a Supreme Court ruling.

Under this program, called “Quedate en Mexico” (Immigrate to Mexico), immigrants must wait in Mexico for a response to their US asylum application.

Record number of immigrants

The Mexican National Immigration Institute (INM) has issued temporary residence permits for humanitarian reasons to the survivors of the tragedy, who are being treated in local hospitals.

The migrants had crossed the Mexican-Guatemalan border for “many days”, said the commander of the National Guard, Luis Rodrεςguez Bouquio.

The truck in which they were riding belonged to a Mexican company and its driver has fled after the accident, he added.

For his part, Guatemalan President Alejandro Yamatei pledged that his country would provide “any consular assistance needed, including repatriation,” to survivors in a Twitter message.

Guatemala will declare three days of national mourning, Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo said in front of the Tustla Gutierrez Hotel, where dozens of injured people are being treated.

He also decided, in collaboration with his Mexican counterpart, to set up an international task force to dismantle traffickers’ networks.

The accident took place in the state of Chiapas, from where immigrants from Central America enter Mexico in the hope of reaching the United States.

Transporting them by truck is one of the most common methods used by traffickers. Other migrants prefer to cross the country on foot, forming “caravans”.

A traditional country of transit for illegal immigrants wishing to go to the US, Mexico is facing an unprecedented number of immigrant arrivals this year, mainly from Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti.

From January to October, 108,195 asylum applications were filed in Mexico, a record number, according to the latest official figures.

For their part, the United States is cracking down on illegal immigrants. The trip “is very dangerous and will not be successful,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had warned in early October from Mexico.

Source: AMPE