Borderlands, Editor's Picks

How the Mexican government has failed to solve the migrant crisis in Tapachula, Mexico

by Andres Diaz June 21, 2022June 21, 2022

Yobel Ruiz and his daughter, Milaidy, 5, wait outside one of the immigration offices in Tapachula, Mexico, on March 8, 2022. The pair fled their home in Panama’s Darién Province the month before, after guerrillas kidnapped Ruiz’s wife. Ruiz hopes to be granted asylum and move to Florida, where a cousin lives. He still doesn’t know the fate of his wife. (Photo by Juliette Rihl/Cronkite Borderlands Project)

In Tapachula, migrants sew their mouths, start fires and blockade roads, in protest against the Mexican government’s slow process for those seeking asylum and work visas. In some cases, migrants have been trapped in the city for years.