Since last summer, the Mexican government has carried out a major crackdown on Central American immigration through its “Southern Border Plan.” Newly released data shows that this stepped-up enforcement continues: in the first two months of 2015, Mexico deported 25,069 Central Americans, 95 percent more than in the corresponding months of 2014, when a total of 12,830 were deported.
The increase in deportations of minors is even sharper; Mexico deported 3,289 minors in January and February of this year, a 105 percent increase from January and February of 2014, when the government deported 1,605 children.
“This data shows that Central Americans are still fleeing their countries in large numbers, and that Mexico has taken on the responsibility of strict immigration enforcement traditionally filled by United States,” says Clay Boggs, Program Officer for WOLA’s Mexico Program. “Our concern is that Mexican authorities are not properly screening these migrants to ensure that refugees and victims of human trafficking or other serious crimes receive the protection they require and merit.”
For more information, see:
- “Mexico’s Southern Border Plan: More Deportations and Widespread Human Rights Violations” (March 2015), by Clay Boggs
- “New Developments along Mexico’s Southern Border” (October 2014), by Maureen Meyer, Clay Boggs, and Rodolfo Córdova
- Mexico’s Other Border (August 2014), by Adam Isacson and Maureen Meyer
