IOM Study Highlights Plight of Young Central American Migrants in Mexico's Southern Border Region
A new study conducted by IOM in partnership with the Mexican
National Commission for Human Rights looks at the plight of
children and adolescent migrants in Mexico's southern border
region.
It is estimated that some 400,000 irregular migrants from
Central America transit through Mexico each year on their journey
north to the United States. Although the number of irregular minors
travelling through Mexico or living in the country is not known, in
2010 Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM by its Spanish
acronym) in coordination with governments in the region, returned
4,815 minors to their countries of origin (819 of them under the
age of 11), the vast majority from Central America.
INM figures for 2010 show that 69,903 migrants (adult and
children) were held in detention centres throughout Mexico,
including 25,090 in Chiapas, 12,770 in Tabasco and 5,304 in Oaxaca,
three southern border states. Of this number, more than
63,000 were from Central America.
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title="">Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Migrantes
Centroamericanos en Poblaciones del Sur de México
"The study, 'Child and Adolescent Migrants from Central America
in Southern Mexico Towns', is the first of its kind in Mexico,
which highlights the difficult situation that young Central
American migrants face, particularly those who remain for extended
periods in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, in the country's
southern border region," says IOM Chief of Mission in Mexico,
Thomas Weiss.
Although other studies have been conducted on child migrants in
Mexico in general, there are few publications on the growing number
of Central American children and adolescents temporarily residing
and working along Mexico's southern border, as many of them make
their way north to the United States.
The IOM study, which includes interviews with children working
on farms, as domestic workers and as street vendors, reveals many
situations of physical and verbal abuse and exploitation.
Some of the girls who worked in private homes doing domestic chores
said their bosses accused them of stealing so that they could be
put on the street without receiving their wages.
The study also found that many times the detained minors, mainly
those headed for the United States, claim to be Guatemalan so they
will be returned by the Mexican authorities just across the border,
making another attempt to reach their destination cheaper and
faster.
Those from El Salvador and Honduras are most likely to be headed
for the United States to reunite with one or both parents, or to
look for work that will allow them to send money home to their
mothers.
Guatemalan minors, on the other hand, are more likely to be
travelling to nearby municipalities in Mexico where they may have a
family member or friend, or in the case of those that are
trafficked, to work as haulers, begging, or in the sex
industry.
When asked if they would attempt the dangerous journey again,
those aged between 12 and 17 said they would try again, but boys
and girls younger than 12 said they were afraid and wanted to go
back home.
Maritza, a 12-year-old from Guatemala, was taken to a shelter
for minors. She said she is scared and wants to stay home
with her grandmother. "My parents left for the United States when I
was seven months old. I didn't know my mother until she came
to visit us last year; my father and brothers I have only seen in
photos. Before my mother left, she told me that she would
send money for my trip to the United States. The person she
hired was with me until I was detained. She recently called
and said I should try again, but I don't want to go."
Through its sub-office in Tapachula, Chiapas, IOM Mexico
provides training and in-kind support to shelters that house
Central American migrants, including migrant children and
adolescents. In addition, the Inter-Agency Task Force on
Migrant Children and Women, with support from IOM, established a
day shelter that provides protection and assistance, including
food, medical and psychological support to child and adolescent
migrants.
The report notes recent initiatives by the National Institute
for Migration to address the situation of child and adolescent
migrants, such as the disaggregation of migrant statistics by sex
and age, and implementing child specific protection mechanisms. The
study also includes maps and graphic illustrations of the routes
used by the young migrants to reach southern Mexico, as well as
concrete recommendations for protecting the rights of child and
adolescent migrants in the country.
These include: implementing a Best Interest Determination
procedure to ensure that children are not being repatriated to
harmful situations; improving access to migrant shelters and
services including medical, nutritional, psychological and
vocational services; registration of children and adolescent family
members accompanying migrant labourers; support and encouragement
of further research on migrant youth in Mexico's southern border
area; and improved information collection and sharing at the
regional level, regarding conditions in migrant countries of
origin.
The publication is part of a regional project financed under the
IOM 1035 Fund, looking at protection trends for Central American
migrants in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Mexico. The project includes a series of national
workshops to discuss research findings, culminating in a regional
workshop to be held in El Salvador.
The study is available in Spanish at
"paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.oim.org.mx/mini_s/estudio_trata2010/" target="_blank"
title="">www.oim.org.mx/mini_s/estudio_trata2010/
For more information, please contact:
Mariela Guajardo
IOM Mexico
Tel: +52 55 5536 3922/3954
E-mail:
"mailto:mguajardo@iom.int">mguajardo@iom.int