Hundreds of undocumented migrants in Tapachula, southern Mexico, Tuesday (23/2) clashed with members of the National Guard during a protest demanding a faster solution to their migration status.
The demonstrators demanded that their documents be processed immediately so they could enter the United States.
The National Guard, equipped with riot shields, formed lines around the National Migration Agency to provide cover from the demonstrations.
One migrant said the demonstrators only wanted the agency to advance a date for their paperwork to be completed, and had been promised four to six months for that.
“We need to solve our migration problem. We don’t throw stones. We are all the same, Cubans, Venezuelans, we see there is a lot of racism, there is no human rights whatsoever.”
The National Migration Agency issued a statement condemning “violent demonstrations” outside its facilities. According to the agency, about 100 migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Africa rallied to confirm the schedule for processing their immigration status.
The ongoing protests came after photocopies of their identification documents were found dumped in a trash can outside the National Migration Agency building. [uh/ab]