An rising variety of migrants from Asia, the Center East, and Africa have begun migrating by means of Mexico en path to the US in recent times.
However Muslim migrants face a sequence of further challenges in Mexico, human rights specialists say, from language obstacles to misconceptions about those that comply with a faith with scant presence in Mexican society.
In response to 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 attributable to their tradition and faith,” stated Soraya Vazquez, of the human rights group Al Otro Lado. “There may be a whole lot of stigma towards 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 liable to extortion and violence, Vazquez stated, 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 stated they might not return to Afghanistan, however that staying in Mexico felt like a deadly choice, too.
“It was like a funeral right here,” stated 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 may imagine what occurred.”