Latin American refugees picking Mexico over U.S.

MEXICO CITY — The armed, masked gang members showed up on a motorcycle at the home in northern Honduras last fall with a stark warning: Leave town within 24 hours, or else.

Laura Maria Cruz Martinez, another single mother and the nine kids in their care threw clothing and personal items into bags and made fortheborderbeforedawn,their home abandoned with the furniture and appliances left in place.

Nine months later they’re in adjacent apartments in Mexico City. It hasn’t always been easy adjusting to this megalopolis of 20 million-plus, but at least they’re safe from the gangs rampaging back home.

All eleven were recognized as refugees by Mexico in March and granted asylum, making them part of a growing wave of refugees from Honduras,elsalvadorandguatemala who are resettling here instead of the United States, which many see as increasingly hostile.

The rise in refugee resettlement in Mexico has paralleled a decrease in immigration to the United States, with apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol down sharply at the frontier.

Under President Donald Trump, U.S. authorities have sought to ramp up immigration enforcement and decrease the number of refugees.

“I do think there are fewer people deciding to focus their sights on the United States precisely because it has projected itself as being an unwelcoming country,” said Maureen Meyer, a senior associate for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights-focused organization.

After Mexico received 3,424 applications for refugee status in 2015, that rose to 8,794 the following year. Applications are already outpacing that this year, with 5,464 just from Januarytomay.

The Mexico office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees believes the country could receive 20,000 requests by year’s end.