Mexico turning child migrants back to face violence in Central America

Nina Lakhani - The Guardian

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a new report indicating that Mexican officials are routinely deporting vulnerable children from Central America who immigrate to Mexico to escape violence in their home countries, according to this article from the Guardian. According to HRW, Mexican immigration authorities create insurmountable obstacles that prevent children from claiming asylum and gaining refugee status in Mexico, despite the threat of violence or sexual assault in their countries of origin. Less than one percent of children detained in Mexico are accepted as refugees, says the article. What’s more, children are being held in detention centers, in breach of national and international child rights laws, instead of being placed in the custody of child protective services.