Tapachula.— The National Institute for Migration (INM) yesterday suspended the face-to-face assistance of more than a thousand migrants who came to process visas for humanitarian reasons because they did not comply with coronavirus protocols, although many of them waited for weeks and had he even had to sleep on the sidewalk of the unit to save a place.
Yesterday, at 7:25, INM staff, through a loudspeaker, ordered more than a thousand migrants from Cuba, Africa and Central America to stay in order and behind the fences, so that in groups of 10, by nationality , they could go to the immigration office to get the green card.
The unrest began when some migrants tried to enter by force and without queuing.
“Keep order, this way we can’t serve anyone,” the immigration officer insisted as they pushed each other to try to force their way in, being detained by members of the National Guard (GN) with shields against the riot.
“Order yourself, we are going through nationality, at the first disturbance you make, we will suspend the attention”, the officer threatened through the speaker.
Half an hour later, faced with the agglomeration and disorder of foreigners in Cuba, Africa and Central America, the immigration regulation office of INM decided yesterday to cancel the immigration procedures and announced that starting next Monday they will participate through electronic programming. These will be carried out on the official website of the institution concerned in order to avoid contagion.
“Today the care for you has been suspended, we have limited space in the facilities; let’s remember that we are in a period of pandemic and we cannot have crowds inside the offices “, explained the INM official.
“Starting Monday, they will be able to make electronic appointments on the site, it is not necessary to come; We are going to post the information outside the office, on the gate, where they can check and set their meetings, so that they do not have to come every day and this accumulation does not end “, said the official.
The announcement sparked disagreement among migrants, who explained that most Cubans and Central Americans spent nearly a month sleeping on the sidewalks in the vicinity of the outbuilding, while migrants from Haiti are treated on a special day until late in the morning. at night, they blamed the Caribbean.
“It is not fair for migration to do this to us. We slept on the sidewalks for a few nights, leaving our place aside and now they tell us that they will not take care of us “, the islands showed annoyed.
They explained that since the beginning of December, about 2,000 foreigners have gathered in the vicinity of the immigration regularization office to process visas for humanitarian reasons and serve only about 20 people a day.
They accused INM staff of charging $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 for humanitarian visa processing without waiting in line or waiting that long.
“Only about 23 Cubans cross the line and say the office is already saturated, but what they are doing is putting people who pay behind,” they say.
The migrants warned that they will remain in an indefinite site in the vicinity of that immigration headquarters until the authorities pay attention to them according to the order of the line.