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Mexico Reinforces Border Checks 06/17 06:14
Mexico's National Migration Institute said 1,000 immigration agents had been
deployed in the north and south of Mexico. The deployment comes as Mexico faces
heightened pressure from the U.S. to reduce the surge of mostly Central
American migrants through its territory.
COMITAN, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican authorities increased immigration
enforcement along well-traveled routes for migrants in southern Mexico over the
weekend, checking identifications, pulling migrants off public transport and
intercepting four trucks packed with nearly 800 migrants.
The National Migration Institute said 1,000 immigration agents had been
deployed in the north and south of Mexico. The deployment comes as Mexico faces
heightened pressure from the U.S. to reduce the surge of mostly Central
American migrants through its territory. Mexico plans to position 6,000
National Guard troops by Tuesday to its southern border with Guatemala.
The Associated Press saw nearly 10 armed soldiers at a checkpoint near
Ciudad Cuauhtmoc, in Chiapas state, wearing black armbands to indicate they are
part of the National Guard. The soldiers stopped vehicles while immigration
officials checked identification and removed passengers without documents. At
another checkpoint just north of Comitn in Chiapas, more than a dozen apparent
National Guardsmen drove around backroads in the rain and dark, looking for
migrants and human smugglers.
In the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, the National Migration Institute said
791 people were taken Saturday to a migration facility and that drivers of the
tractor-trailer trucks transporting them were arrested.
Migrants are routinely transported through Mexico in packed semis, sometimes
in dangerous conditions without food or water or sufficient fresh air.
Government video showed officials breaking the lock on the door of one cargo
truck and helping migrants out.
The institute described the detentions and arrests in Veracruz as part of a
strategy implemented by its new commissioner, Francisco Garduo. The former
prisons director assumed the post Friday, taking over for a sociologist and
academic.
Military police wearing National Guard armbands were also patrolling Sunday
along the Suchiate River that separates Mexico from Guatemala. In prior days,
migrants were seen being ferried across the river by raft without interference
from immigration or other Mexican officials.
Outside Comitn on Sunday, some roadblocks and checkpoints were manned by
multiple soldiers and police identifying as National Guard.
At one checkpoint, immigration agent Jos Angel Ramrez welcomed the help of
the National Guard.
"We don't have a way to stop so many and the traffickers pass everywhere,"
said Ramrez, who was accompanied by a dozen National Guard officers.
Nearby, five Hondurans found traveling without papers were sitting in a
holding cell.
One of the Hondurans, a farmer named Armando who was traveling with a
daughter and nephew, broke into tears while saying he'd be killed if returned
to his country.
After several hours, the Hondurans were transported to a Mexican detention
center for migrants.
The Mexican National Guard is a new security force created by President
Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, who took office Dec. 1. The security force is still
taking shape and was originally established with the goal of stemming endemic
violence. Last year saw the highest number of murders in at least 20 years in
Mexico.
Mexican soldiers have long been authorized to search vehicles for drugs or
weapons, explained one of the newly minted National Guard officers, who
declined to give his name. Now, he said, they can detain drivers or others
suspected of helping the undocumented move through Mexico.
Comitn locals say that trucks often bypass area checkpoints at night. "We
don't know what they have inside," said immigration agent Julio Velasco.
Mexican officials have set up additional roadblocks in recent days to cover
more territory.
Luis Guillermo Lechuga, who sells vests near one of the checkpoints, was
skeptical that the increased security presence will reduce the flow of migrants
through Comitn and surrounding areas.
"Everything will be the same," said Lechuga, who expressed a mixture of
sympathy and annoyance with the travelers. "Nobody leaves their country without
problems."
(KA)
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