Mexico vows to protect unaccompanied minor migrants

ANKARA

Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) said Thursday its officials are working to ensure the welfare and integrity of the unaccompanied minor migrants in the national territory.

A total of 10,135 unaccompanied children and adolescents assisted by the INM between December 2018 and June 2019, the institute said in a statement. Among those children, 9,743 are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

INM underlined that they also participated in cases of 5,636 minor Mexicans who were repatriated from the U.S.

Its officers, along with Federal Migration Agents, are working to ensure respect for human rights of minor migrants through the immediate provision of basic health services, food, clothing and rest, according to the statement.

The officers also responsible for keeping communication between the children and their families alive through phone calls.

Child protection officers are designated in 32 states of Mexico with focus on the southern and northern borders of the country.

Since 2007, the institute promotes the protection of migrant children, especially those traveling unaccompanied.

- Migration issue in Central America

Mexico is one of the stops where thousands of migrants from Central American countries begin their journey for the U.S. asylum in a bid to flee violence and poverty in their home countries.

Meanwhile, scores of migrants are grappling with the U.S. anti-migrant policy at the border.

U.S. President Donald Trump has pursued a hardline approach to immigration, both legal and illegal, since coming to office and has particularly singled out Mexico for what he says is a lack of action to stem migrant flows, where people are fleeing destitute conditions, including rampant poverty and gang violence in the hopes of securing safety or asylum in the U.S.

Although Trump announced in May the U.S. would put tariffs on imports of Mexican goods, the U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement in June to avoid Washington’s tariffs on Mexico to force the country to reduce the immigration flow.