A group of migrants and activists announced that they plan to leave in a caravan from Tapachula, Mexico, next Wednesday due to the saturation of asylum requests at the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar). This situation has been exacerbated by measures implemented by United States President Donald Trump.
In a protest in Tapachula, the largest Mexican city on the southern border with Central America, alongside the director of the Center for Human Dignity (CDH), Luis Rey García Villagrán, there was a demand for "legal certainty" from Comar. García Villagrán expressed that there are around 20,000 migrants in Tapachula requesting refuge and that Comar is predominantly classifying them as economic migrants, despite Trump's new policy that has led many migrants to decide to stay in Mexico.
Among the migrants who have expressed their intention to stay in Mexico is the Cuban Daniel Moreno, who hopes to process his application at Comar. They mainly fear being deported by the National Institute of Migration (INM). Others, like Venezuelan Jaqueline Vanesa Herrera, prioritize applying for asylum at Comar but consider leaving in a caravan if they do not receive a favorable response to their request.
The saturation at Comar has resulted in a decrease in asylum requests in Mexico in 2024, with just under 79,000 applicants compared to the record high of 140,720 in 2023. However, from January to August of last year, the Mexican government detected a significant increase of over 925,000 irregular migrants, representing a 132% annual increase. Despite the difficulties, migrants express gratitude for the hospitality of the Mexican government, especially the humanitarian assistance promised by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
