According to Mexico’s National Immigration Institute, the number of migrants detained in Mexico increased by 78 percent in January compared to the previous year.
Between January 1 and January 30, 16,740 migrants, mostly from Central America, were held, according to the report. In comparison, 9,406 persons were detained without legal documentation during the same period in 2021.
It was unclear whether the number of migrants was lower last year as a result of last winter’s devastating coronavirus outbreak.
Children and children under the age of 18 made up 14.5 percent of those detained, and 780 were discovered to be unaccompanied by family members, according to the agency.
Six thousand two hundred migrants, or 38% of the total, came from Asia, Africa, Europe, or other parts of the world outside than the Americas.
Smugglers of migrants in Mexico have recently tried some novel tactics, such as ferrying migrants for hundreds of kilometres on the backs of motorbikes or smuggling them in vehicles with forged emblems.
Authorities stated last week that eight motorcycles, each with a driver and a Cuban migrant riding on the back, were halted at a checkpoint in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, some 180 miles (300 kilometres) from where they started. They were on their way to the northern state of Coahuila, which was almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) away. The migrants were passed over to immigration officials after the drivers were captured.
These arrests happened just days after 28 Nicaraguans were discovered stuffed inside a bogus ambulance emblazoned with government health-care emblems. The automobile was halted in the Pacific coast state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
In general, immigrant traffickers via Mexico attempt to smuggle migrants in buses or freight trucks. To deflect inspection, the trucks are frequently painted with the logos of well-known companies.
Migrants caught in such situations are typically deported to their home countries, unless they have been the victims of a crime.
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