They turn to the minute Presidency that allows the INM to automate tasks

Andrea Becerril and Arturo Sanchez

Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday March 26, 2022, p. 4

The Senate turned to the Presidency, for its promulgation, the reform that allows the staff of the National Institute of Migration (INM) to monitor the entry and exit of people, of Mexican and foreign nationality, as well as review their documentation, through technological tools automated.

Morena Senator Bertha Caraveo, president of the Committee on Border and Immigration Affairs, said that the minutes, endorsed unanimously in last Thursday’s session in the Senate, represents an innovative intervention of the Mexican State, in accordance with contemporary dynamics, since it speeds up and automates the movement of people.

He explained that the use of technological instruments, such as biometrics, facilitate efficient border control in real time, which is why these types of measures have been implemented in countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

In the case of Mexico, he said, the objectives of security and order, derived from the migratory phenomenon, are addressed.

PVEM senator Israel Zamora Guzmán considered that by using biometric technological tools, any subjectivity in the analysis carried out by migration personnel can be eliminated. There will be greater transparency, certainty, security and human trafficking will be combated.

Meanwhile, the head of the INM, Francisco Garduño, participated in a visit to the province of Darién, located on the border between Panama and Colombia, one of the main entry points for people on the move in the region, and where the risks begin for those who seek to transit to the center and north of the continent.

The United Nations Children’s Fund reported in October 2021 that during that year About 19,000 migrant children have crossed the Darién Gapa figure that is almost three times higher than that registered in the previous five years.

At the meeting, at the request of the Regional Conference on Migration, authorities and specialists from 11 countries suggested various actions to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, including promote and maintain dialogue with countries of origin, transit and destination to address extra- and intra-regional flows; and coordinate a roadmap with civil society organizations and international organizations on humanitarian assistance to the migrant population.

In turn, the Foreign Ministry reported that officials from Mexico and the United States yesterday concluded a working visit to Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Panama, in order to discuss cooperation measures for orderly, safe and regular migration in the region. .

On the instructions of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, in the trilateral meetings held with diplomatic and immigration authorities in each of the countries visited, the Mexican delegation stressed the need to expand labor mobility schemes in the area.

The purpose is to provide options for regular and circular migration, in contrast to irregular flows that put the security of migrants at risk.

Likewise, the Mexican officials highlighted the efforts carried out in terms of cooperation for development, such as the Sowing Life and Youth Building the Future programs.