Mexico begins moving wary migrants to new shelter farther from border
TIJUANA, Mexico — Mexican authorities have begun moving Central American migrants from a crowded, increasingly unsanitary encampment to a government-run shelter farther from the U.S.-Mexico border, raising fears among members of a migrant caravan that their dreams of asylum in the United States will be dashed.
Buses arrived to take people to the new shelter starting Thursday evening as rain pelted the existing encampment in a sports complex, deepening the misery of more than 6,000 migrants stuck in limbo there amid trash and mud. By Friday afternoon, hundreds had been taken to the new shelter, a shuttered concert theater, El Barretal, about 11 miles from the border in the Torres de Matamoros section of Tijuana.
But many migrants, the bulk of them from Honduras, were staying put, suspicious of Mexican authorities’ intentions.
“People are distrustful that it’s an immigration trick, that it’s not what they say it is and that they will really be deported,” said Amelia Frank-Vitale, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Michigan and an immigration expert who has traveled with migrant caravans for years. “It’s happened before in southern Mexico.”
In the meantime, many of the migrants are trying to get permits to stay and work legally in Mexico, she said. “They also have no idea where they are going — which makes them worried that they won’t be near banks, where families are sending them money, or stores where they can buy food, since the food here doesn’t always stretch,” she said. “Many of them have part-time jobs nearby that they’ve picked up. There are a lot of reasons people are hesitating.”
Unsanitary conditions at the encampment have raised concerns among aid workers and humanitarian organizations that the migrants, packed into a space intended for half their number, are susceptible to outbreaks of disease. Already, many are suffering from lice infestations and respiratory infections, officials said.
Mexican authorities touted the advantages of the new shelter, pointing out that the Mexican navy is on the scene to handle food distribution and that transportation to a job fair will be provided. They expressed hope that those who initially took the buses to the new site would report back to others and encourage them to come.
“It’s a much better place, and all of the help and government services will be there,” said Edgar Corzo Sosa, a spokesman for Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission.
Many who had arrived the night before woke to find no water or food available, with some wondering whether they made the right choice to leave the sports complex.
“There’s no light, no water, no word from anyone about what will happen,” said Carlos Humberto Guerra, 70, a Honduran national who had a morning appointment with Mexican immigration authorities about his application to remain in the country as a refugee.
“I don’t even know what part of the city I’m in now,” he added. “I’m going to have to get a taxi but don’t have the money. If I don’t make it, my paperwork is worth nothing.”