Jessica Xantomila and Jared Laureles
The newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, September 8, 2024, p. 8
The use of the CBP One application in Chiapas and Tabasco to request asylum in the United States has benefits for migrants in need of international protection, as they do not have to go to the center and north of the country to begin this process, as was the case before. However, it has also caused a greater concentration of these people, especially on the Chiapas border, where there are already reports of saturated shelters.
This was confirmed by shelter coordinators and civil organizations, who explained that this is due to the fact that after the expansion of the states where CBP One can be used, since August 23, the number of appointments provided per day (1,450) and the process to obtain them has not increased. It’s still random
so the applicant may see months go by before getting one.
Olga Sánchez, founder of the Jesús El Buen Pastor shelter in Tapachula, Chiapas, said that since the application began operating in the state, it serves 2,000 migrants daily, when before there were between 600 and 700. They are waiting for the appointment
requesting asylum in the United States, he said.
This situation, he said, has generated Dissatisfaction
among many inhabitants of the city, because Most people don’t want that. But we live on the border and this is always the case.
with the constant flow of migrants.
He explained that now his team will begin to review the operation of the National Migration Institute’s (INM) Emerging Safe Mobility Corridor program, with which it issues permits called Multiple Migratory Form (FFM), valid for 20 days, to those who already have their CBP One appointment confirmed, and carries out bus transfers to the northern border.
Sánchez said that with the proper implementation of this government strategy, the risks faced by migrants on the route to the northern states of the country, such as kidnappings, assaults and extortion, would be reduced.
Regarding the work of the INM, Josué Castañeda, from the international Chirla program, indicated that there is still much uncertainty
on how it is carried out, since the information provided is general.
In this regard, he said that they have documented cases of foreigners who are in other cities in Chiapas to whom INM agents told them that if they want the FMM permit they must move to Tapachula to process it, so are being forced to return
.
Regarding what is happening in Tabasco, Josué Martínez, deputy coordinator of the Oasis de Paz del Espíritu Santo Amparito shelter in Villahermosa, mentioned that the flow of migrants arriving at this space has not changed. However, he foresees that there will be a greater presence of this population, which due to CBP One will stay longer in the city.
