Employment opportunities, economic necessity, insecurity and violence are the principal reasons why people decide to migrate. Of migrants that have been detained by Mexican authorities, 88.3% were sent back to their country of origin. La Casa del Migrante de Saltillo is one of a series of shelters that supports migrants in Mexico. It receives an average of 80 migrants a day and provides them with medical and psychological care, as well as legal assistance with the migratory process and deportation cases. In addition, they carry out the courageous task of denouncing and documenting violations of migrants’ human rights.
On July 2019 the federal police attempted to enter La Casa del Migrante de Saltillo, stating that they were carrying out a migration revision. In line with migration law the team at Casa Migrante denied the police access. In addition to the challenges inherent to this type of work, those who collaborate with the Casa del Migrante have also faced an elevated level of risk and recurring security incidents.
This is a series of videos about the new context for migrants in Mexico after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President Donald Trump reached an agreement on June 2019.
Human rights defenders from the migrant shelter comment on the role of the military forces and their involvement in public security operations such as migration issues.
In January 2019, Mexico and the United States implemented the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) which obliges anyone who enters the United States - irregularly or without adequate documentation - to be sent back to Mexico for the duration of their migration process.
On top of precautionary measures already granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Casa Migrante Saltillo receives measures from the Mexican Government's Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.