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The Perilous Journey Through Mexico
Abuse by Authorities
Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times
While Mexican police are certainly not alone in their abuse of migrants, their corrupt practices are extremely widespread. Mexico initially began to require visas from Central Americans in the 1980’s in order to combat the surge of migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States (Sladkova). Just as the cost and time it takes to get a visa to the United States often prevents Central American migrants from being able to travel legally, so too does the expense that goes into a Mexican visa dissuade migrants from other Central American countries from obtaining one. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) of the United States initiated Operation Global Reach in 1997 in an attempt to deter migrant smuggling (Greene). The operation essentially extended the immigration policing activities further south in Mexico towards the Guatemala border to hinder other Central American migrants.
Given these United States-pressured initiatives, the migrants traveling illegally through Mexico are supposed to be detained and deported in a humane manner by the Mexican immigration police. However, this is often not the case. Mexican immigration agents instead use the illegal status of migrants to their own advantage, often demanding bribes that help these underpaid officers supplement their incomes. Guatemalan officers, too, have been reported of demanding money from migrants from other Central American countries. Given that the majority of migrants traveling from Central America are doing so in search of work that can provide them with a better life because they are so poor, these bribes can be devastating. In addition to monetary bribes, the abuse of migrants by Mexican authorities also includes robbery, rape, and detaining migrants in inhumane conditions (Ruiz). The power that these officers abuse thus leaves migrants incredibly vulnerable, particularly women for whom sexual abuse is often a given.
Mexican immigration police are found at various checkpoints along highways, train stops, and bus routes. While migrants who have previously made the journey or have the means to hire a decent coyote know which areas to avoid or have enough money to bribe officers, those who are most poor and inexperienced often fall prey to their abuse. While the majority of Central American migrants speak Spanish, their dialects, accents, and facial features easily identify them as being foreigners to the Mexican police. Some migrants are only asked for bribes, but there are cases when violence at the hands of la migra plays a large role in their human rights abuses. I recently interviewed a Mexican immigrant now living in the United States who told me of one of journeys to the United States. The man and his friend traveled by bus from Veracruz, but were stopped by immigration officers. When asked where they were from, they both replied that they came from Veracruz. The friend, however, had a Guatemalan-looking appearance. An officer, thinking that he was lying and frustrated by his insistent response that he was Mexican, beat the man to death. In addition to the excessive violence displayed by Mexican immigration authorities, this incidence also reflects the racism that has emerged as a result of the migration phenomenon. While the man I interviewed survived the interrogation unscathed, the friend who appeared Guatemalan was immediately assumed to be lying and thus subject to violence.
The abuses by Mexican police present one of the most important dangers that Central American migrants face in their attempts to reach the United States. In Jana Sladkova’s “Documenting the Undocumented Journeys of Honduran Migrants to the United States,” she emphasizes the Mexican police as being a major obstacle in Honduran migrants’ journeys north and suggests that the success of migrants largely lies in their access to finances (Sladkova, 126). Many of the migrants that passed through Casa del Migrante in Tecun Uman were from Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador; thus, her focus on Honduran migrants is particularly useful in analyzing the population that I interviewed during my time in Guatemala. When asked why they had chosen to migrate to El Norte, the migrants at La Casa del Migrante usually responded that their migration was driven by their need for work. Since they were unable to find suitable labor back home, the migrants often lacked the finances needed to safely and successfully complete their journey to the United States. Thus, the poorest migrants are often the ones that suffer most in their quest for a better life. Their inability to bribe Mexican authorities or access coyotes that know how to avoid the dangerous areas along the way force the poorest of migrants to face the most perilous paths to El Norte. The Office of Human Rights at La Casa del Migrante thus attempts to combat the human rights violations that migrants experience, especially at the hands of immigration authorities.
Given these United States-pressured initiatives, the migrants traveling illegally through Mexico are supposed to be detained and deported in a humane manner by the Mexican immigration police. However, this is often not the case. Mexican immigration agents instead use the illegal status of migrants to their own advantage, often demanding bribes that help these underpaid officers supplement their incomes. Guatemalan officers, too, have been reported of demanding money from migrants from other Central American countries. Given that the majority of migrants traveling from Central America are doing so in search of work that can provide them with a better life because they are so poor, these bribes can be devastating. In addition to monetary bribes, the abuse of migrants by Mexican authorities also includes robbery, rape, and detaining migrants in inhumane conditions (Ruiz). The power that these officers abuse thus leaves migrants incredibly vulnerable, particularly women for whom sexual abuse is often a given.
Mexican immigration police are found at various checkpoints along highways, train stops, and bus routes. While migrants who have previously made the journey or have the means to hire a decent coyote know which areas to avoid or have enough money to bribe officers, those who are most poor and inexperienced often fall prey to their abuse. While the majority of Central American migrants speak Spanish, their dialects, accents, and facial features easily identify them as being foreigners to the Mexican police. Some migrants are only asked for bribes, but there are cases when violence at the hands of la migra plays a large role in their human rights abuses. I recently interviewed a Mexican immigrant now living in the United States who told me of one of journeys to the United States. The man and his friend traveled by bus from Veracruz, but were stopped by immigration officers. When asked where they were from, they both replied that they came from Veracruz. The friend, however, had a Guatemalan-looking appearance. An officer, thinking that he was lying and frustrated by his insistent response that he was Mexican, beat the man to death. In addition to the excessive violence displayed by Mexican immigration authorities, this incidence also reflects the racism that has emerged as a result of the migration phenomenon. While the man I interviewed survived the interrogation unscathed, the friend who appeared Guatemalan was immediately assumed to be lying and thus subject to violence.
The abuses by Mexican police present one of the most important dangers that Central American migrants face in their attempts to reach the United States. In Jana Sladkova’s “Documenting the Undocumented Journeys of Honduran Migrants to the United States,” she emphasizes the Mexican police as being a major obstacle in Honduran migrants’ journeys north and suggests that the success of migrants largely lies in their access to finances (Sladkova, 126). Many of the migrants that passed through Casa del Migrante in Tecun Uman were from Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador; thus, her focus on Honduran migrants is particularly useful in analyzing the population that I interviewed during my time in Guatemala. When asked why they had chosen to migrate to El Norte, the migrants at La Casa del Migrante usually responded that their migration was driven by their need for work. Since they were unable to find suitable labor back home, the migrants often lacked the finances needed to safely and successfully complete their journey to the United States. Thus, the poorest migrants are often the ones that suffer most in their quest for a better life. Their inability to bribe Mexican authorities or access coyotes that know how to avoid the dangerous areas along the way force the poorest of migrants to face the most perilous paths to El Norte. The Office of Human Rights at La Casa del Migrante thus attempts to combat the human rights violations that migrants experience, especially at the hands of immigration authorities.
Las Maras and the Drug Cartels
Photo courtesy of Federal Bureau of Investigation
Violence at the hands of gangs and drug cartels is brutal in Mexico and migrants have become targets of it. Gangs like La Mara Salvatrucha originated in the 1980's during the armed conflict in El Salvador as Salvadorans in Los Angeles banded together to protect themselves from other gangs in the area. "Due to US deportation policies of "criminal" migrants, and the increase in flows of travel and circular migration between the USA and Central American states, maras spread back to Central America, with El Salvador having the greatest density. Maras represent a legacy of US interventions in Central America, and, for some commentators, a sign of new transnational criminal links across Central America, te USA, Canada, and Mexico" (Allatson 2007). The gang, disillusioned from the civil war in their country, is known for their participation in merciless, violent crime.
Human Trafficking
My Body is Not for Sale
The problem of smuggling and human trafficking is one that plagues both border patrol and migrants alike. One of the reasons cited for securing the U.S.-Mexico border through increased border patrol and the building of the fence is to prevent human trafficking. However, with the increased difficulty of crossing this border comes further desperation on the part of migrants, who are more likely to accept the attractive propositions of strangers, many of which can be guises for human trafficking. Women, in particular, are victims to human trafficking in relation to the sex trade. In attempts to keep migrants safe from the dangers of human trafficking, social workers at Casa del Migrante warned migrants to be wary of strangers and not accept propositions for labor without knowing full well what they are getting into.
Individual Robberies
The introductory interviews conducted with the migrants include questions regarding possible human rights abuses. Many migrants are robbed at some point along the way and some of these robberies are at the hands of police at the borders who force the migrants to pay them, lest thay be deported. Though migrants do not necessarily have much money with them, they feel compelled continue along their way, as they have already taken the hardest steps in leaving their homes and families. Returning so soon after departing would mean failure; thus, they submit to the inhumane treatment by authorities in an attempt to complete the difficult journey they have begun. During my time in Tecun Uman, I encountered migrants who had this very experience, some going days without eating because they simply did not have enough money to spend on basic necessities, given the abuses they had experienced at the hands of authorities.