Migrants pay up to US$40,000 for security to reach Mexico border – El Nacional

Tijuana (Mexico).- Authorities on Mexico’s northern border warn that at least 8,000 migrants a month pay coyotes (traffickers) up to $40,000 for a “package of protections” with which they promise to protect them from deportation-free transit out of the country. . .

David Perez Tejada, head National Institute of Migration (INM) In Baja California, an interview with EFE said that in the last quarter of 2023 the number of people arriving with this protection has increased, with a monthly trend of 8,000 shelters on average, that is, about 300 people per day.

An immigration representative in a state bordering California (USA) explained that this protection is commonly promoted in Tabasco, Veracruz and other establishments in the center of the country.

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There, the coyotes trick them with the idea of ​​an “all-inclusive” package to reach border cities like Tijuana and cross irregularly into the United States from there.

He explained that some people as they cross the southern border into Mexico “already come with this kind of package, as if it were a travel agency.”

“They already bring from their country of origin where they are going to fly them, which forest they are going to cross and (the promise) that they are going to cross the border irregularly, but with their security,” he said.

He added that these packages include plane tickets from Tapachula over the Guatemalan border or from Mexico City to Tijuana.

Once they arrive at this border town, he said, they show protection for their free movement so that “a supposed taxi driver or Uber directs them to a safe house or a place to stay for 24 hours or less, and the next day they’re already in the United States.” The same crossing.

Different prices to cheat foreigners

Research shows that “each package is priced differently depending on the situation of the traveler.”

“If it’s a family unit, if they bring minors, if they come alone, the modality and the rate change depending on that and the place of origin, for example, people from Uzbekistan pay up to 40,000 dollars, the Chinese 20,000, among them Central America. 7,000 dollars, Ecuadorian 10,000,” he said.

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Pérez Tejada highlighted that the people who come to Tijuana the most with this security are Uzbeks and Chinese.

But the INM representative warned that, even though they have this legal tool, if agents stop them, it does not exempt them from the administrative process, in which they must be detained for a maximum of 36 hours before their release.

Irregular Crossings into the United States

For the INM representative, this situation presents a “problem” because it complicates the work of the immigration authorities.

“They are the ones who are entering (the United States) irregularly and what we want is to have a dialogue with the bar, legal associations and research institutions so that we can see how to deal with this tool that really affects us. is,” he said. .

This arrival of migrants under this modality was at its peak in November of last year, when the INM in Baja California registered 13,600 protected persons and has already decreased this January.

INM also faces charges

On the other hand, Nicole Ramos, director of the El Otro Lado Institute in Tijuana, responded in writing to EFE that “it is questionable for the representative (of immigration) to send the message that the only way to cross (the United States) is through CBP-One, which is for migrants is the official US app.

“We all know it’s used to limit the number of asylum seekers who can cross and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) refuses to process asylum seekers who come without an appointment, regardless of the individual’s circumstances,” He condemned. .

He added that “telling immigrants to use CBP-One, while actively helping the United States break the law, is a bit disingenuous.”

“We will not see unscrupulous lawyers in Mexico or organized crime profiting from migrants’ desire for safe passage across the border to seek asylum if Mexico does not act as a watchdog for the United States government,” he charged.