Human Rights Watch denounces numerous violations against migrants under the 'Remain in Mexico' program

Migrants try to cross the border to the United States in search of political asylum, through the Paso del Norte International Bridge, in Ciudad Juárez. Luis Torres / EFE

When in November 2019 Cecilia P., a 36-year-old Venezuelan migrant, arrived in the Mexican border city of Nogales, she hoped that the United States immigration authorities would hear her pleas to obtain asylum for her and her two children, from 13 and three years, and thus be able to reunite with his sister in the United States.

What she found, however, was a bureaucratic wall that was difficult to jump over: after initially allowing her to enter the United States, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents returned her to Mexico, where she was to remain under promise. that a judge would study your case.

She was sent to the violent Ciudad Juárez, where she didn't know anyone and where she and her children suffered attempted rape, assault, and extortion by Mexican immigration officials.

His story is part of an extensive report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which denounces violations of the human rights of migrants under the program

designed by the Government of Donald Trump.

HRW demands President-elect Joe Biden to “quickly and decisively” dismantle the program for raping migrants.

Cecilia befriended Berenice in Ciudad Juárez, another 24-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was also trying to cross into the United States with her four-year-old daughter.

"We were completely lost," says Cecilia.

While the women waited for news of Cecilia's sister, four men attacked them.

"From what they said it was clear that they wanted to rape us," he explains.

“One grabbed me.

Another grabbed my friend.

We started screaming.

Some people came up and helped drive the men out.

The children were completely traumatized ”.

The nightmare did not end there.

Desperate, the women bought bus tickets to return to Nogales, a 10-hour drive from Ciudad Juárez.

On the way, two agents from the National Migration Institute (INM) stopped the bus and ordered all the passengers to show their IDs.

Cecilia and Berenice presented their passports with the entry forms for Mexico, but the agents ordered them to get out of the vehicle and get into an INM van.

Inside, they began to extort money.

“We are going to break their permits and deport them if they don't give us $ 100 each,” one of the men threatened.

Cecilia and Berenice begged to be released.

“Solve it, I don't know how you will solve it, but crying doesn't fix anything.

If you do not have the money, I will break the permits and with a call they will deport you ", was the answer they received.

Cecilia handed over the 2,500 pesos ($ 120) she was carrying, which was her only hope in Nogales, and the men let them get back on the bus.

“Under the

, asylum seekers must wait in Mexico and periodically return to the United States for hearings in immigration court.

Formally known as 'Migration Protection Protocols (MPP)', the program is anything but protective: it has sent people to some of the most dangerous cities in Mexico and unnecessarily and predictably exposed them to a considerable risk of serious damage.

People interviewed, including children, described rape or attempted rape and other sexual assaults, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, armed robbery, and other crimes committed against them.

In many cases, they were attacked when they arrived in Mexico or when they returned from court hearings, or when they left the migrant shelters where they were staying.

In some cases, immigration agents or Mexican police officers committed these crimes, ”says HRW in the report.

Since the program began in January 2019, as part of Trump's immigration policy, US authorities have sent 69,000 asylum seekers to Mexico, including hundreds of children, many of them with disabilities.

"It's almost impossible to get an exception for the most vulnerable people," warns HRW.

In addition, the agency has documented between November 2019 and January 2020 at least 32 cases of kidnapping or attempted kidnapping against migrants in the cities of Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo.

"Most of these abductions involved multiple victims and included at least 38 children," the report states.

Another human rights body, Human Rights First, has tracked more than 1,100 cases of murder, rape, kidnapping, torture and assault of people sent to Mexico under the Trump Administration program.

"The

subjects children and adults to serious and ongoing harm, including kidnappings and rapes, and must be promptly and decisively dismantled," Human Rights Watch demands.

"The president-elect, Joe Biden, should act quickly on his promise as a candidate and end the two-year program," adds the body.

Biden has been open to reforming the migration policies of the current government, a decision that has been applauded by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“My appreciation for your position in favor of migrants from Mexico and the world, which will allow us to continue with the plan to promote the development and well-being of the communities of the southeast of Mexico and the countries of Central America.

I believe that in this way no one will be forced to leave their place of origin and will be able to live, work and be happy with their family, among their people, with their culture, and thus we will be able to build the definitive solution to migratory flows from and through Mexico to the United States, ”said the president in mid-December.

The Mexican government, however, has developed an aggressive policy against migrants after Trump threatened in May 2019 with a 5% rate on any import if Mexico did not stop migration.

In response, the Mexican government deployed almost 7,000 National Guard soldiers to the border with Guatemala, turning the country into a wall to stop the caravans of migrants entering Mexican territory from Central America to the United States.

“As a result,” warns HRW, “thousands of people are concentrated in dangerous Mexican border cities indefinitely, living lives in limbo, many of them dependent on the generosity of humanitarian groups and volunteers for shelter, food and medical care.

Migrant shelters in Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana filled quickly, and a large shelter run by Mexican federal authorities in Ciudad Juárez also quickly reached capacity shortly after opening in late 2019. In Matamoros, dangers in the city have caused up to 2,600 people to live in an informal camp on the banks of the river that marks the border between Mexico and the United States, a place prone to flooding.

In Nuevo Laredo, both asylum seekers and those trying to help them also face particularly serious risks.

Reverend Aarón Méndez, a pastor who ran a shelter for migrants, was kidnapped in August 2019, probably by members of the cartel who had repeatedly attacked the shelter and those staying there.

Horror stories suffered by thousands of migrants like Venezuelans Cecilia and Berenice, who hope to fulfill their desire to start a new life in the United States.

“The incoming administration must recognize that the MPP is an abject failure of the United States to uphold the right to seek asylum and provide protection to those seeking safety.

The severe damage MPP has inflicted on tens of thousands of people cannot be completely undone, but U.S. efforts to reverse the program should put people as close as possible to where they are. they would have found if they had not been sent to Mexico, it must include specific assistance to help them recover from the difficulties and anguish that the program has imposed on them, it must publicly acknowledge these damages and it must commit to never repeating them ”, recommends the HRW report.