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| Mexico's other border: People crossed the Suchiate River from Guatemala into the Mexican town of Cuidad Hidalgo last February. Alexandre Meneghini/AP |
Mexico's other migrant problem
The government will soon release details of a new plan to prevent Central Americans from crossing the southern border.
from the July 31, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Jorge Mario Garcia, from Guatemala, recently crossed the river in broad daylight. His friends each paid $1 to ride on inner tubes run as a mini ferry service. He opted to swim the stretch himself. "It's a thousand times easier to cross into Mexico than the US," says Mr. Garcia, who was caught and deported from McCallen, Texas just a few months earlier.
The number of Central Americans caught attempting to get into Mexico rose to 240,200 in 2005 from 138,000 in 2002, according to the National Migration Institute. That number dipped to 182,700 last year, but is expected to rise sharply to 205,000 this year.
But crossing the border is often the easiest part. Surviving along the frontier, paying off bribes, avoiding gangs, and dodging thieves who pray on migrants with cash in their pockets, make up the stories of migrants in shelters in this region of Chiapas.
Mr. Garcia, who was recuperating at a shelter from a 24-hour walk from the Mexico border along washed out railway tracks to Tapachula – during which he and his friends were robbed and beaten – says his intent is to make it to Los Angeles, to meet his mother.
But he says he won't be surprised if he stays in Mexico for a while this time. When his friends and neighbors fail to reach the US, he says, they just set out again.
But it gets tiring, he says, dunking two chickens by their feet into a simmering pot of water. "The goal of all of us is to get to the US," he says. "But to be honest … the US isn't going anywhere. If we can find an opportunity in Mexico to work for a while and save some money, we will."
While President Calderón's first step was to create a new police task force in Chiapas, where most migrants are caught, most of the administration's initiatives have centered on better treatment for migrants. Mexico's legislature is debating changes to the immigration law, including changing the penalty for entering the country illegally to a civil violation instead of a crime punishable with jail time.
The National Migration Institute announced improvements to the nation's 48 detention centers and human rights training for its officials. According to a spokeswoman from the institute, they will also be releasing details of a Safe Southern Border Program to clamp down on gangs, corruption, and trafficking along the southern border.
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