Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Mexico says refugee requests tripled in 2021

Mexico says refugee requests tripled in 2021

Mexico has a relatively simple asylum process and approves more than 95 percent of applications, foreign minister says.

Applications for refugee status in Mexico have roughly tripled this year compared with 2020, the government has said, in the face of a significant influx of people bound for the United States.

The country has received 123,187 requests in 2021, up from 41,230 last year, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters on Tuesday, describing the increase as “enormous”.

The government and the United Nations were supporting the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance to deal with a backlog of applications, Ebrard said, adding that the organisation needed more personnel and funding.

Mexico has a relatively simple asylum process and approves more than 95 percent of applications, Ebrard added.

In recent months, tens of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing poverty and violence have arrived in Mexico, where many are seeking asylum while waiting to try to enter the US.

People smugglers commonly hide undocumented migrants and refugees in trucks bringing them from Guatemala into Mexico, from where they head north to the US border.

Underscoring the dangers they face, a horrific road accident earlier this month left 56 people – mostly asylum seekers from Guatemala – dead after the truck transporting them overturned.

The incident put a spotlight on the dangers people face on the road to the US border, often at the hands of human traffickers known as coyotes.

Dozens of asylum seekers have died from violence or crashes in Mexico over the past decade, while the US has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of people seeking to cross into the country at its southern border this year.

Most of the asylum seekers are from the so-called Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which are experiencing widespread gang violence and corruption, as well as high rates of poverty and unemployment, among other issues.

Dominga Tiniguar, who lives in a village called Xepol in Guatemala, lost her son in the December 9 crash in Mexico. He was a farmworker who planned to earn money in the US before returning to Guatemala.

“He was going to Chicago to work so he could build a house here in Xepol and buy a piece of land,” Tiniguar told the Reuters news agency, holding a photo of her son, Elias Salvador Mateo Tiniguar.
01:16

This year has also seen a surge in asylum seekers from Haiti arriving in Mexico with the hope of crossing into the US.

But US President Joe Biden’s administration has maintained a Trump-era border closure policy known as Title 42. Invoked due to the coronavirus pandemic, the measure allows US officials to immediately turn back most people that arrive at the border without processing their asylum claims.

The Biden administration also resurrected another programme first put in place by Donald Trump to restrict immigration into the US. The “Remain in Mexico” policy forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US immigration hearings.

Rights groups have lambasted the policy as one that puts people at risk in violence-ridden Mexican border towns or in squalid border camps.

The number of Haitians claiming asylum in Mexico increased more than seven-fold between 2020 and 2021, from 5,935 claims for all of 2020 to 47,494 between January and November 2021, according to Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM).

The INM also recorded a substantial increase in Haitian nationals entering the country outside official ports of entry – from 3,891 in 2019 to 17,516 from January to October of this year.

More than 190,000 undocumented foreigners were detected in Mexico between January and September, according to authorities. Some 74,300 were deported.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×