Mexico plans to launch an application next week for migrants to process their asylum application

() — The government of Mexico will launch a new application to expedite the asylum process at a time when the number of asylum seekers reaches record numbers, even after a similar application in the United States came under harsh criticism for its failures and difficulty. of use.

Andrés Ramírez, director of the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR), told that he believed an application was necessary to manage the overwhelming number of asylum applications in Mexico City.

“We are receiving so many people that we simply cannot keep up,” said Ramírez.

Ramírez said that for the first time in his agency’s history, during the first 18 days of May, more asylum claims were filed in Mexico City than in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, which borders Guatemala.

During that time, 3,300 applications were filed in Mexico City and 3,000 in Tapachula, Ramírez said.

The new application — simply called the “pre-registration system” — will allow people to register their intent to apply for asylum online and is expected to speed up the process. According to Ramírez, it is expected that it will be launched next week only in Mexico City and that other areas will be added later.

Ramírez believes the influx is due in part to the end of Title 42 in the United States, which has drawn many more people to Mexico in hopes of crossing the border. Those hopes were dashed by a tough new rule enacted by the Biden administration that bars most asylum seekers who traveled through other countries from getting protection in the United States if they enter the country illegally.

Ramírez also said that some people seeking asylum in Mexico City may still be waiting to get an appointment on the US Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One app, through which users can make appointments to enter legally. through a port of entry to present your asylum case.

‘Apps’ for asylum seekers

The US CBP One app has been heavily criticized by immigrant advocacy groups, who say some immigrants lack the resources to get a smartphone, don’t have adequate internet access to use the app, and may struggle with language barriers and of literacy. The groups have also raised concerns about how the app’s facial recognition technology treats darker skin.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told that the app has worked as intended and more than 79,000 people have made appointments since its launch in January 2023. CBP it also revamped the application earlier this month to address some of the concerns, and for the first time allowed people in central Mexico — not just on the US-Mexico border — to apply.

Mexico’s asylum application is similar to CBP One, in that people start the process by entering their information online, which is expected to speed up processing. But there is a significant difference, as Ramírez points out: Unlike the CBP One app, his agency’s app allows people to apply for asylum from within Mexican territory.

Still, immigration experts caution against using applications in the asylum process.

“You shouldn’t have to make an appointment when your life is in danger,” says Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, who has witnessed the use of the CBP One app firsthand.

“The CBP One application is a logistical and humanitarian failure that should not be replicated by Mexico or any other country,” Matos said.

Matos said he has met countless migrants fleeing danger in their home countries and waiting in Mexico in perilous conditions, with many experiencing glitches, facial recognition issues for those with darker skin, and problems accessing the Internet. language.

Meanwhile, the number of migrants living in limbo while waiting in Mexico City for their asylum claims has become dangerously unsustainable, aid groups say.

José Antonio Silva, coordinator of migration projects for Doctors Without Borders in Mexico City, says his organization is concerned about the health and living conditions of those who are currently in overcrowded shelters or living on the streets.

“The shelters, most of them with their own resources, face not only overcrowding problems, but also the challenge of being able to cover the different basic needs of people: health, food, water, hygiene, sanitation and information,” Silva said.

Silva said the migrants staying in the overcrowded shelters are predominantly Haitian and Venezuelan, as well as Mexican and Central American, with some Afghans and Angolans as well.

Their observations coincide with COMAR data, which shows that during the first four months of the year, the top five nationalities seeking asylum in Mexico were Haitian, Honduran, Cuban, Venezuelan, and Salvadoran. The Angolan was the only nationality from outside the Western Hemisphere in the top 10, according to COMAR data.

Migrants are especially vulnerable to extortion, robbery, physical and verbal assaults, sexual abuse and discrimination, and Silva worries that sleeping on the street could increase their chances of being revictimized.

From January 1 to May 18, 2023, more than 56,000 people have applied for asylum in Mexico, according to Ramírez. At this rate, Ramírez said his agency expects to receive around 140,000 applications by the end of the year, a record number.

“Seeking asylum is a legal right that should not depend on having a smartphone or using an app,” Matos said. “Instead, our countries should work together to create just and humane systems that respond to the realities of our world in the 21st century.”