Mexico has said that it will begin the corresponding administrative procedure to determine the legal status of Ecuadorian migrants in the country.
A bus with 178 migrants, including Ecuadorians, in Mexico, on September 11, 2023.
Some 178 migrants were found on a passenger bus in the Mexican state of Veracruz (southeast), the National Migration Institute (INM) announced on September 11, 2023.
111 migrants were part of 43 families originating from Guatemala and Honduras.
In addition, he noted that they were traveling with:
- Six unaccompanied minors from Guatemala.
- 50 adult women and men from Guatemala.
- Nine migrants from Ecuador.
- A person from the Dominican Republic.
- An adult from El Salvador.
In a statement, the INM said that during the first hours of September 11, agents of the institution identified the vehicle and the total number of migrants at the toll booth in the municipality of Las Choapas, Veracruz.
The INM is dependent on the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of the Interior).
They explained that agents stopped the bus and when interviewing the passengers, they mentioned being foreigners and not carrying immigration documents.
After the discovery, the migrants were transferred to an immigration headquarters where the six unaccompanied minors were identified, as well as three family groups from Honduras and 40 family groups from Guatemala. These people will remain under the guardianship and care of the state System for the Comprehensive Development of the Family (DIF).
While in the case of adults from Guatemala, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, the corresponding administrative procedure will begin to determine their legal status in the country.
The INM indicated that the driver, two companions and the transport unit were placed at the disposal of the delegation of the Attorney General ‘s Office (FGR) of Veracruz.
Traveling crowded inside vans, trailers and buses is one of the most dangerous ways migrants use to irregularly cross Mexico, heading to the United States. For these trips they pay thousands of dollars to traffickers.
In recent months, Mexico has registered the arrival of migrants from practically all regions of the world, mainly Central and South America.
This reflects an unprecedented migratory flow, with more than 2.76 million irregular migrants intercepted by the United States at the border in 2022.
After the end of Title 42, the US Government applies Title 8, which increases penalties for those who cross the border irregularly.
