Between January and November, Mexican authorities detained a record number of migrants — just over a quarter of a million, according to data from the Migration Policy Unit (UPM), a division of the Interior Ministry (Gobernación).
The numbers represent a massive leap from 2020, when around 82,000 foreigners were detained.
Of the 252,526 migrants detained in 2021, almost 110,000 were from Honduras and 70,000 from Guatemala, the UPM said.
Also this year, 18,235 Haitians were arrested by Immigration Institute (INM) officers, as well as other agencies, including the National Guard, Army and Navy.
Many NGOs have slammed the federal government for involving the military in migration enforcement. Gretchen Kuhner, director of the Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración (Imumi), said this change in policy was not only “illegal” but also “frightening.”
In 2014, in response to a surge in unaccompanied minors heading to the United States, the Obama presidency started to pressure Mexico into stemming the flow of Central American migrants arriving at the U.S.’ southern border. This was heightened during the Trump administration and has continued under Joe Biden.
The number of temporary humanitarian visas issued by Mexican authorities this year has skyrocketed too. Of 42,855 issued between January and November, 11,843 were to Haitians, 10,830 to Hondurans and 4,374 to Venezuelans.
The number of applications for refugee status in Mexico has also shattered records in 2021: 123,187 received up until the end of November, according to the Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (Comar).