From Afghanistan, among the migrants who most request refuge in Mexico

With 430 refugee claims registered last January, the migrants from afghanistanFor the first time in the history of the refuge in Mexico, they were among the 10 countries that presented the most asylum applications in a month, reported the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar).

In fact, the 430 Afghans who requested refuge in Mexico in the first month of 2023 were close to the total number of migrants from that country who requested asylum in all of 2022, which was 498.

In a message on social networks, the head of Comar, Andrés Ramírez Silva, explained that in January 2023, “for the first time in the history of the refuge in Mexico, nationals of Afghanistan (are) among the top 10. They requested the condition of refugees 430, seventh place on the list”.

The official specified that this figure is 15.3% higher than tAll Asian applicants from 2013 to 2021.

He also noted that the number of Afghans registered in January 2023 alone represents 86.3% of the 2022 figure “so it is expected that a new record will be established already in February.”

The top 10 list are Haiti (4,305), Honduras (2,837); Venezuela (1,337), Cuba (872), The savior (562), Guatemala (468), Afghanistan (430), Brazil (408), Chili (365) and Nicaragua (277).

At the beginning of January, Comar reported that during the 12 months of last year, Mexico received 118,478 petitions from migrants who requested recognition of refugee status, with migrants from Honduras leading the way with 31,086 petitions.

The institution, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior, indicated that this figure is the second highest after the 131,448 cases registered in 2021.

Refugee claims in Mexico occur in the midst of a record migratory flow to the United Stateswhose Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) detained an unprecedented number of more than 2.76 million undocumented immigrants in fiscal year 2022.

Migration has been on the rise in Mexico since October 2018, when caravans with thousands of migrantsmostly Central Americans, began to enter with the aim of crossing the country to reach the United States.

This arrival of migrants has been maintained in recent years despite the pandemic and the restrictions imposed by the United States and countries in the region. (EFE)