Local police in Chiapas lock up Haitian families and hand them over to the INM, which expels them to Guatemala The evidence that shows that climate change is caused by humans

Municipal police officers from Motozintla, Chiapas, locked several Haitian families in a cell and then handed them over to the National Institute of Migration (INM), which later expelled them to Guatemala. The events occurred on August 15, according to one of the victims, who was traveling with his wife and his 20-month-old daughter. The man, who did not want to be identified because he fears reprisals, recorded a video showing families, including young children, crowded into a small room with bars. “The police from the municipality of Motozintla detained us and they kept us locked up all night. We were 18 adults and 4 children. This is abuse," he said.

Sources from the Motozintla mayor's office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that these arrests are a common practice. According to his version, in August there was a meeting of the municipalities of the southern border with the federal government, which gave the mandate to capture the migrants and hand them over to the INM. "There is nothing to hide, it is an indication at the federal level," said the source.

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The arrest documented by Animal Político occurred at 1:00 p.m. on August 15. Two Haitian families (a total of five adults and three minors) were traveling in a taxi bound for Tuxtla Gutiérrez, although their objective was to reach Mexico City. At the height of Motozintla they were intercepted by municipal police, who ordered them to get out of the vehicle.

“The police told us that Haitians cannot cross, that the law says so,” explains the man.

The police officers took them to the Motozintla police station, where they locked them up in one of the cells. There, 18 adults and four children were crowded together, including a three-month-old baby. “The municipal police do not have that power. I wasn't stealing, I wasn't doing anything wrong. They get me out of a taxi and keep me one night, with the girl crying, without a bed, without water, with nothing. 22 people in a two meter room. What is that?" he protests.

The Haitian tells that those who managed to fall asleep slept on the floor. That the room was dirty and that they did not have water to clean the bathroom when someone did their business, so there was a very bad smell.

“I yelled at them: this is abuse, they have no heart,” he said.

Find out: Arrests, confrontations and raids: the hunt for migrants that occurs in Chiapas

They were locked up for more than 24 hours, according to this testimony. Subsequently, at 4:00 p.m. on the 16th, INM agents arrived and took them to the border with Guatemala, specifically to the La Mesía pass. It was not the first time that the man was expelled to the Central American country. A few days ago he was also captured in Tapachula, where he lives with his wife and daughter. “They caught me with diapers, baby milk and wet wipes. They sent me to Guatemala. But I'm not from Guatemala!” she complains.

After spending the night at the border, the Haitians took a bus back to Tapachula. The mandate is to stop them from traveling north, but they are allowed to go back.

“A municipal police officer told me that it was not his fault, but the government's, which gives the orders. This does not happen in any country in the world! Lock up children? I don't know what is happening with the Mexicans!” he said.

Authorities confirm arrests

Sources from the Motozintla city council confirmed to Animal Político that these arrests are being recorded. According to this version, the federal government would have requested support from municipalities in the area such as Comitán, Frontera Comalapa, Huixtla and Motozintla itself to collaborate in the immigration detention strategy.

“When they are arrested it is because they commit a crime, such as making a scandal,” said this source. However, she later acknowledged that there was an instruction to arrest migrants who try to cross through the municipality, prevent them from passing, and hand them over to the INM. "There is nothing to hide, it is a collaboration law," he said.

Read more: Government says migrants in 'irregular' situation; have tripled, compared to 2020

Animal Político consulted the INM about these practices, which at press time had not issued a response.

The Migration Law, which was modified in January of this year, expressly prohibits the detention of children and adolescents. In fact, the INM insists that since January 11 there are no longer any minors housed in its facilities.

The victim of the arrest explained that he arrived in Tapachula from Haiti two months ago. Since then she has tried to regularize her situation, without success. The only alternative he received was to request asylum before the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar), but since he is collapsed, he does not have an appointment for a week. Almost 20,000 Haitians applied for asylum in Mexico in 2021 alone, according to data from Comar. It is the second nationality that made the most requests for protection this year, only surpassed by Honduras.