Tapachula.- The National Migration Institute (INM) yesterday suspended the face-to-face care of more than a thousand migrants who came to process the Visa for Humanitarian Reasons, due to the fact that they did not respect the protocols against coronavirus, although many of them have been waiting for weeks and have even had to sleep on the sidewalk of the outbuilding to set aside a place.
At 7:25 a.m. yesterday, INM staff, through a loudspeaker, ordered more than a thousand migrants from Cuba, Africa and Central America to remain in order and behind the fences so that, in groups of 10, by nationality, they could enter the migration regularization office to get the bit.
The disorder started when some migrants tried to enter by force and without queuing.
“Keep order, this way we can’t take care of anyone,” the migration agent insisted as they pushed to try to enter by force, being contained by National Guard (GN) troops with riot shields. .
“Order, we are going through nationality, at the first mess they make we are going to suspend attention,” the officer threatened through the speaker.
Half an hour later, in the face of the agglomeration and disorder of foreigners from Cuba, Africa and Central America, the immigration regulation office of the INM decided to cancel the migration procedures yesterday and announced that from Monday next will be attended through electronic appointments that will be made on the official website of this institution to prevent contagion.
“Today the attention for you has been suspended, we have a limited quota inside the facilities; remember that we are in a period of pandemic and we can not have crowds inside the offices,” said the official of the INM.
“From Monday you can make electronic appointments on the website, they do not need to come; we will paste the information out of the office, at the door, here they can check and remove their appointments so that they do not have to come every day and not do this overcrowding, ”the official said.
This announcement caused dissatisfaction among migrants, who have explained that most Cubans and Central Americans have been sleeping on the benches around the outpost for almost a month, while migrants from Haiti are cared for on a special day and up to high hours. at night, they reprimanded the Caribbean.
“It’s not fair for migration to do this to us. We’ve been sleeping on the benches for several nights, setting aside our place and now they’re telling us they’re not going to take care of us,” the islanders pointed out annoyingly.
They explained that since the beginning of last December, about 2,000 foreigners have gathered around the migration regularization office to process the Visa for Humanitarian Reasons and only serve about 20 people a day.
They accused INM staff of charging $ 1,500 to process the Visa for Humanitarian Reasons without queuing or waiting that long.
“Only about 23 Cubans pass by in the line and say that the office is already saturated, but what they are doing is putting people who pay behind,” they say.
The migrants warned that they will remain indefinitely in the vicinity of this migratory headquarters until the authorities attend to them according to the order of the line.