A dozen undocumented migrants on Mexico’s southern border sewed their lips on Tuesday in protest to convince the country’s immigration authority to grant them passage into the United States of America.
It was reported that the migrants, mostly Central and South Americans, helped each other to seal their lips using needles and plastic threads, leaving a small space to consume liquids and using alcohol to wipe away drops of blood from the stitches.
An activist at the demonstration, Irineo Mujica said; “The migrants are sewing their lips together as a sign of protest.
“We hope that the National Migration Institute can see that they are bleeding, that they are human beings.”
In a public statement, Mexico’s migration agency said; “it is worrying that these measures have been carried out with the consent and support of those who call themselves their representatives, with the intention of pressuring authorities on an attention already provided.”
During the dramatic protest, some held their children in Tapachula, a border city with Guatemala, which for months has been filled with thousands of migrants waiting for papers to be able to freely cross the country.
A Venezuelan lady named Rivera said; “I’m doing it for my daughter.
“She has not eaten anything in the last few hours and I see no solution … from the authorities.
“We are like prisoners here.”
She added that she has been waiting for a response from Mexico’s migration agency for more than a month.
The agency said it had given priority to vulnerable groups, such as children, adolescents, pregnant women, victims of crime, people with disabilities and the elderly.
The institution confirms over hundred applicants visit their offices in the southern city every day.
In recent years, the number of Mexico migrants fleeing violence and poverty has increased. In 2021, Mexico recorded an 87% increase in the number of asylum applications, mainly from Haitians and Hondurans.
The United Nations refugee agency recently said Mexico should consider new aid programs in the middle of surge towards the arrival of foreigners, many of them Venezuelans, for whom Mexico now requires a visa.
-Reuters
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