Migrants sew their mouths shut in quest for Mexico passage to U.S. border

A migrant begins a starvation strike along with her mouth sewed shut throughout a protest to demand free transit by way of the nation outdoors the workplace of the Nationwide Migration Institute (INM) in Tapachula, Mexico February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Torres

TAPACHULA, Mexico, Feb 15 (Reuters) – A dozen undocumented migrants on Mexico’s southern border sewed their mouths shut on Tuesday in a bid to persuade the nation’s immigration authority to grant them passage towards the U.S. border.

The migrants, largely Central and South Individuals, helped one another seal their lips utilizing needles and plastic threads, leaving a small house to eat liquids and utilizing alcohol to wipe away drops of blood from the stitches, Reuters photographs present.

“The migrants are stitching their lips collectively as an indication of protest,” mentioned Irineo Mujica, an activist on the demonstration. “We hope that the Nationwide Migration Institute can see that they’re bleeding, that they’re human beings.”

Some had been carrying their youngsters after they staged the dramatic protest in Tapachula, a border metropolis with Guatemala, which for months has been crammed with 1000’s of migrants ready for papers to have the ability to freely cross the nation.

“I am doing it for my daughter,” mentioned Yorgelis Rivera, a Venezuelan. “She has not eaten something in the previous few hours and I see no resolution … from the authorities.”

“We’re like prisoners right here,” Rivera mentioned, including that she has been ready for a response from Mexico’s migration company (INM) for greater than a month.

The INM didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark concerning the protest however mentioned that they obtain greater than 100 candidates at their places of work within the southern metropolis on daily basis.

In recent times, the variety of migrants arriving in Mexico fleeing violence and poverty has jumped. In 2021, Mexico recorded an 87% enhance within the variety of asylum purposes, primarily from Haitians and Hondurans. read more

The United Nations refugee company (UNHCR) lately mentioned that Mexico ought to think about new help applications amid a surge within the arrival of foreigners, lots of them Venezuelans, for whom Mexico now requires a visa. read more

Reporting by Jose Torres; Writing by Lizbeth Diaz and Valentine Hilaire; Modifying by Sandra Maler

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