An rising variety of migrants from Asia, the Center East, and Africa have begun migrating by Mexico en path to the US lately.
However Muslim migrants face a sequence of extra challenges in Mexico, human rights specialists say, from language limitations to misconceptions about those that observe a faith with scant presence in Mexican society.
In line with 2020 census information, there are fewer than 8,000 Muslims dwelling in Mexico, representing lower than 0.01 per cent of the inhabitants.
“They’ve a really specific scenario resulting from their tradition and faith,” mentioned Soraya Vazquez, of the human rights group Al Otro Lado. “There’s loads of stigma in opposition to the Muslim group.”
Many migrants who journey to Mexico from different continents hoping to finally attain the US need to pay smugglers 1000’s of {dollars} for the prolonged journeys. This places them vulnerable to extortion and violence, Vazquez mentioned, particularly if they’re unable to repay the hefty money owed as a result of they’re caught in Mexico.
Reuters spoke with 5 Afghan migrants in Tijuana who all had their US asylum appointments cancelled. Like Zazai, they mentioned they may not return to Afghanistan, however that staying in Mexico felt like a deadly choice, too.
“It was like a funeral right here,” mentioned Ahmed Tijani, assistant director of the Assabil shelter who’s initially from Ghana, describing the environment within the refuge on Trump’s first day in energy. “Nobody might imagine what occurred.”
