Mexico has a relatively simple asylum process and approves more than 95 percent of applications.
Applications for refugee status in Mexico have roughly tripled this year compared with 2020, the government has said, in the face of a significant influx of people bound for the United States.
The country has received 123,187 requests in 2021, up from 41,230 last year, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters on Tuesday, describing the increase as “enormous”.
The government and the United Nations were supporting the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance to deal with a backlog of applications, Ebrard said, adding that the organization needed more personnel and funding.
Mexico has a relatively simple asylum process and approves more than 95 percent of applications, Ebrard added.
In recent months, tens of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing poverty and violence have arrived in Mexico, where many are seeking asylum while waiting to try to enter the US.
People smugglers commonly hide undocumented migrants and refugees in trucks bringing them from Guatemala into Mexico, from where they head north to the US border.
Most of the asylum seekers are from the so-called Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which are experiencing widespread gang violence and corruption, as well as high rates of poverty and unemployment, among other issues.
Source: Excelsior
