NEW YORK – Haitians in Mexico continue to head north toward the United States border, with some arriving in the Mexican capital over the weekend.
Thousands of people left Tapachula, a town in Chiapas province on Mexico’s southern border, in late October. Previously, they waited in vain for assurances of safe passage to the United States from the Mexican government. About 200 of these migrants, including Haitian and Central American nationals, were due to arrive in Mexico City on December 10, La Prensa Latina reported.
The migrants walked on foot from Tapachula, which is about 651 miles south of Mexico City. The closest point along the US border is about 562 miles north of Mexico City, near McAllen, Texas.
Haitians migrate after having previously lived in South America, via Mexico, for at least five years. In September alone, more than 12,000, mostly Haitians, attempted to cross the Rio Grande at Del Rio, Texas, attracting international attention.
In the first nine months of 2021, Haitian asylum applications in Mexico quadrupled compared to the previous year, reaching more than 26,000 applications filed. As of September, about 19,800 Haitians either had legal residency in Mexico or were detained by immigration authorities, according to the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR).
