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Central American Migrants Face Perilous Trials While Passing Through Mexico, Report Shows

Posted May 27, 2010 by Leslie Josephs

Mexican President Felipe Calderón may have railed against Arizona SB 1070 during his visit to Washington, but migrants in his home country are facing grave human rights violations, sometimes at the hands of Mexican authorities, a new report shows.

Amnesty International’s Mexico researcher Rupert Knox, who helped author the report, “Invisible Victims: Migrants on the Move in Mexico”, released late last month, said Central American migrants, who travel through Mexico to reach to the United States, suffer from robbery, rape, and kidnapping, “with virtually no access to justice, fearing reprisals and deportation if they complain of abuses.”

According to the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico City, some 500,000 migrants, mostly from Central America, enter Mexico every year in hopes of crossing over into the Untied States.

Weak laws and rampant corruption are giving Mexican sex trafficking rings and other criminal organizations, border police, and officials nearly free reign to commit abuses. Amnesty International reported estimates that six of every 10 women and girls who cross over into Mexican irregularly suffer sexual violence.

For a video from Amnesty International related to the report, click here.


Through May and June, LIW news reporting fellow Leslie Josephs will be covering U.S. immigration issues from her temporary base in Mexico City.


Image courtesy of Eneas via Flickr

Tags : amnesty international, central american migrants, mexico, women's rights

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