Central American Migration
Central Americans must migrate through the expansive country of Mexico to reach the United States. They fall victim to many abuses on that journey, before even reaching the US/Mexican border. They are especially vulnerable when they are in transit through the southern part of Mexico in the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Oaxaca and Veracruz. They are frequently stopped and deported by Mexican immigration agents or other Mexican authorities. Extortion and abuse by authorities is common. They are also preyed upon by theives, gangs and networks of organized criminals. The poorest Central American migrants have little choice but to migrate by boarding freight trains as they move through the southern zone. The train itself presents many dangers and many migrants lose limbs and even their lives due to falls from the moving train.
COMI is a part of a network of centers and shelters that assist migrants on their journey. One center in the city of Ixtepec also in the state of Oaxaca has compiled statistics that reflect the dismal reality of the Central American migrants passing though their shelter which is near the train line.
The shelter in Ixtepec assisted 42, 500 persons during 2007.
710 reported being assaulted.
6 in 10 migrants reported some type of abuse occuring in Chiapas or Oaxaca, Mexico. The abuse included assault, extortion, rape, mutilation and kidnappings.
2 of every 100 migrants confidentially reported a sexual assault during their journey.
