Mexico has seen a massive influx of immigrants this year, particularly from Africa and Asia. The situation has gotten so dire that the Mexican government has been forced to set up temporary shelters as they scramble to expedite deportations. Many of the immigrants, Mexican officials say, are ultimately bound for the United States.
Speaking with El Universal on Thursday, Mexican Foreign Ministry undersecretary Socorro Flores expressed deep “concern” about the surge in immigrants, “many” of whom he said will be deported.
“Many of them will have to return to their home countries,” he said, adding the “there is a concern because the flows have increased and there is also a concern because they need to cross many countries to get to their intended destinations.”
The Daily Caller highlights the emergency actions taken by the government in response to the unexpected surge of immigrants, including “setting up shelters and working with the countries of origin of the immigrants on deportations,” and provides some context to the situation:
Central America has recently been dealing with an influx of immigrants from abroad. It was recently reported that Guatemala has caught 56 times more African immigrants in 2016 than they did in all of 2015. These immigrants frequently have the goal of heading to the United States and seeking asylum.
While Mexico struggles to handle an unprecedented influx of migrants, many of whom are heading to the U.S., the Obama administration has dramatically slowed deportations.
“The number of undocumented immigrants deported by President Obama is falling and could hit a 10-year low in 2016 just as the issue heats up in this year’s presidential race,” reported The Hill last month. “Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) figures from June suggest 230,000 people could be removed or returned from the country by the end of the fiscal year next month, slightly fewer than the 235,413 deported in 2015. That was the lowest number since 2006.”