Medellín, Colombia – Since early May, Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) has carried out a wave of raids targeting migrants, mainly of Venezuelan and Central American origin, in Mexico City.
NGOs across the city have denounced the intensified anti-migrant operations, with reports that those submitting to legal processes seeking asylum or residency in Mexico are being detained despite having the correct documentation.
The recent tactics used by the INM, such as raiding houses, taking away migrants’ cellphones and documents, and targeting online delivery drivers, have been compared to the tactics used by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Rights groups have in recent weeks denounced the immigration raids, with Lorena Cano, the juridical coordinator for the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI), calling them “totally irregular.”
A group of NGOs – including Support to Venezuelan Migrants, IMUMI, and the Juridical Clinic Alaíde Foppa of the Iberoamerican University – made a formal complaint before the National Commission for Human Rights earlier this month denouncing the targeting of online delivery drivers in a shopping center in the upmarket neighborhood of Polanco.
They also criticized that many people who were already undergoing the processes for refugee status were transported to a migrant station in Itzapalapa before being sent to Villahermosa and Tapachula, cities in the south of the country, despite Mexico City describing itself as a “sanctuary city” for migrants.
A spokesperson for Casa Tochan, a migrant shelter in Mexico City, told Latin America Reports that “not only is this a flagrant violation of human rights, it’s also a violation of the rule of law. We don’t know what’s happening with those who’ve been detained because they’re unreachable – they haven’t been given the right to the phone call that they’re entitled to in the event of a legal arrest.”
The Supreme Court has also described the recent raids as unconstitutional.
Despite reports and testimonies shared on national and international news media, the INM has publicly rejected the notion that they are carrying out “raids”, instead stating that their actions come following a “request for cooperation from the competent authorities of Mexico City, with the intention of preventing any criminal acts.”
Some speculate the operations are part of a beautification drive ahead of the World Cup games, of which Mexico is a co-host.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) has been facing severe delays since the COVID-19 pandemic, with southern states like Chiapas being hit the hardest. Since Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, there have been 18 migrant caravans leaving from Tapachula, Chiapas. Members of the David Caravan, which set off at the end of April, cited the extreme delays in COMAR’s asylum processing as a key reason for their movement.
Featured image description: Government building in Mexico City
Featured image credits: ProtoplasmaKid via Wikimedia Commons
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