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Tamaulipas migrant agency waits with uncertainty as migrants head toward US-Mexico border

2 years 6 months 2 weeks ago Thursday, September 09 2021 Sep 9, 2021 September 09, 2021 8:52 AM September 09, 2021 in News

On Mexico's southern border with Guatemala in Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas, Haitian migrants have been asking Mexican immigration officials to speed-up their asylum claims in order to have legal status in the country.

Within the last two weeks, images show Mexican immigration officials using excessive force on migrants trying to head north, and several immigration officials have been let go from their jobs.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles north in Reynosa, Tamaulipas state officials wait with uncertainty on the possible arrival of new migrants.

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"Unfortunately, the arrival of more migrants will in a way worsen the crisis we are in right now," said Ricardo Calderon, the director of the Reynosa office for the Tamaulipan Institute for Migrants.

To avoid even more migrants reaching the U.S. border, Gabriela De La Paz Melendez, a political science professor at Tec Monterrey, says Mexico has had to clamp down on their southern border.

"This is something that is overwhelming for the Mexican authorities and I think we need to find a new way to deal with this," Melendez said. 

RELATED: Asylum seekers in Reynosa camp awaiting court dates  

Now that the 'Remain in Mexico' policy is back in effect, it's expected migrants will continue to be stranded on the U.S.'s doorstep.

"The arrival of migrants is not going to stop, especially if conditions continue the way they are in Central and South America," Calderon said in Spanish. 

Melendez adds that the solution isn't to throw money at the problem, but rather pressure local governments from where migrants come from in order for them to provide better security, better jobs and for people to hold their leaders accountable.

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