Violence in Mexico, Central America Sends Flood of Migrants North

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports that waves of migration through Mexico and Central America, and people who go missing, will increase in 2022 due to high levels of violence in the region, with Mexican authorities detaining 307,679 migrants in 2021 alone, a 68 percent increase compared with 182,940 detentions in 2019, reports The Guardian. Disappearances in the region are also on the rise: Mexico recently surpassed 100,000 people reported missing in the country, 488 missing person cases remain unsolved in El Salvador, and in Guatemala the number of missing women rose to six a day.

Most migrants apprehended at the US south-west border come from Mexico and Central America, but an increasing number are arriving from farther places and seeking refuge, including in recent weeks Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion of their country. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has rolled out a sweeping new regulation that will authorize asylum officers to accept or reject migrants’ claims for protection soon after they cross the border, in an effort to bypass the courts and resolve them in months rather than years. Some immigrant rights advocates oppose the fast-track process, which aims to process cases within 90 days, fearing it will lead to more deportations.