Mass deportations and failed asylum policies leave tens of thousands of migrants stranded and in danger along Mexico’s border cities

Emergency intervention in the south 

This week, Doctors Without Borders sent an emergency team to Tapachula in southern Mexico, where approximately 40,000 migrants are crowded together, without access to housing, basic services, or opportunities for employment. On September 4, 500 of these migrants joined a caravan north to protest their conditions and abandonment.  

A first Doctors Without Borders assessment team, which accompanied the caravan for part of the journey, has treated patients for dehydration, headaches, muscle aches and wounded feet. They also treated a case of hypoglycaemia.

Migrants in Tapachula come from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba. A significant number of people in Tapachula are women and children. They have been in limbo for months. Many recently crossed the border with Guatemala, while others were deported by the United States to the northern border of Mexico and then transferred to southern Mexico by Mexican authorities.  

Another limbo in the north   

More than 2,000 people are living in a similar situation in the northern town of Reynosa, some 200 meters from the international bridge that links this Mexican city with Hidalgo, Texas. Migrants there—most of them from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are exposed to inclement heat, without adequate access to basic services and at serious security risk.   

In Reynosa's Plaza de la Republica there are only 18 public toilets available at the camp, approximately one for every 110 people. Those who want to bathe or wash their clothes must pay 10 Mexican pesos (half a dollar) to use the showers and sinks for a maximum of 10 minutes. Drinking water (which is sometimes scarce), clothing, food, mattresses, tents, medicines and medical consultations are being provided by civil society organizations.   

Ailments associated with precariousness and psychological disorders  

In Reynosa, Doctors Without Borders provides primary health and mental health consultations and counselling through a team of social workers. It is also supporting in the provision of drinking water at the camp. Between March and August of this year, Doctors Without Borders carried out 902 consultations. Teams are mostly treating respiratory, digestive and dermatological conditions, largely due to severe overcrowding and obstacles to proper hygiene. Having walked long distances along the route, migrants also present with foot pain and general muscle aches.   

Most of the people Doctors Without Borders assists have left their country of origin due to violence, and they are often victims of violence along the migration route north. In addition to this history of trauma, migrants are dealing with the mental health impact of the precarious nature of their living conditions and migration status, and separation from their family members. This can lead to emotional disorders such as anxiety, stress, excessive fear, constant worry and, in severe cases, psychological disorders.

Policies that criminalize migrants  

Most of the migrants in Reynosa, including women, pregnant women, children, the elderly, LGBTQ population, indigenous and non-Spanish speakers, have been expelled from the United States through Title 42, a US public health order policy that constitutes a flagrant violation of international law. The policy uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to block people seeking protection in the US and deport them to border cities in Mexico, with the blessing of the Mexican government. These policies have put migrants in direct danger and have generated worrying episodes of violence.  

Doctors Without Borders urgently calls on Mexican and U.S. authorities to take action to address the grave humanitarian situation of migrant populations throughout the country, particularly in border regions. The US and Mexican governments must work together to promote access to protection in the region instead of coordinating on interdiction.