Mexico City
Reuters
Mexico detained almost 6,000 foreign migrants in a four-day span, the country’s National Migration Institute (INM) said on Monday.
The majority of the 5,688 migrants detained from 21st to 24th April were found in safe houses, trailers, or hidden in bus compartments or truck cabins, the INM said in a statement.
Members of the Mexican National Guard stand guard at a military checkpoint, as part of a security operation to reduce violence and the influx of migrants crossing towards the US, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on 22nd April. PICTURE: Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File photo.
By far the largest group by nationality detained over the weekend were Hondurans, with 1,060 detained, followed by 942 Cubans and 906 Guatemalans.
In total, migrants from 42 countries were put into custody, according to the statement.
Other groups were found walking through the desert or along highways as they tried to make their way to the US-Mexico border.
Mexican immigration authorities have detained 115,379 migrants from the beginning of the year to 13th April, the latest date available, pointing at a sharp rise in irregular migration.
Record numbers of migrants attempted to cross the US-Mexico land border in US President Joe Biden’s first year in office, while the Democrat tries to tackle migration’s root causes, recently sending envoys to Mexico and Panama.
The International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters last month that high levels of violence throughout Mexico and Central America would continue to spur migration throughout 2022.
