Asylum seekers extorted at the US border by Mexican officials

In the latest twist to the stories of abuse received by asylum seekers almost every day, Mexico immigration officials have been accused of extorting group of migrants waiting at the US border. The increasingly dangerous nature of migrating to the US as asylum seekers is obvious to all - criminal gangs do all sort of things to migrants. Earlier in February, a report by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that the US had been forced to test young girls amidst the migrants for pregnancy since they are usually victims of several rapes. As thousands of asylum seekers are waiting at the US-Mexico border hoping to get asylum in the US, it has been discovered that some Mexican immigration officials order migrants to pay as high as $3,500 if they want to remain at the border. The massive wait at the border is as a result of the bar the current US administration has placed on the number of asylum that can be treated per day. This metering process exposes migrants to more dangers, including extortion as well as kidnapping by criminal gangs.

Migration officials working with human smugglers

Migrants have also accused Mexican immigration officials of working with human smugglers. The report has it that migrants are required to provide code given to them by groups of human smugglers before they are given passage through Reynosa. People without the code are usually charged between $25 and $105, according to the director of one of the organizations that provide help to migrants moving through Mexico. This claim followed the kidnapping of 22 migrants by heavily armed men who stopped their bus on their way to Reynosa. Following these reports, the president of Mexico said his administration is doing all it can to end corruption in all sectors. Stay in touch and get alerts & emails directly in your inbox by subscribing to Visa Crimes Check here for our latest immigration updates, local immigration activities, emerging trends, visa news updates for Australia, Canada, US, UK, Germany and more.