Medellín, Colombia – Since early May, Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) has carried out a wave of raids targeting migrants, mainly of Venezuelan and Central American origin, in Mexico City.

NGOs across the city have denounced the intensified anti-migrant operations, with reports that those submitting to legal processes seeking asylum or residency in Mexico are being detained despite having the correct documentation.

The recent tactics used by the INM, such as raiding houses, taking away migrants’ cellphones and documents, and targeting online delivery drivers, have been compared to the tactics used by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Rights groups have in recent weeks denounced the immigration raids, with Lorena Cano, the juridical coordinator for the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI), calling them “totally irregular.”

A group of NGOs – including Support to Venezuelan Migrants, IMUMI, and the Juridical Clinic Alaíde Foppa of the Iberoamerican University – made a formal complaint before the National Commission for Human Rights earlier this month denouncing the targeting of online delivery drivers in a shopping center in the upmarket neighborhood of Polanco. 

They also criticized that many people who were already undergoing the processes for refugee status were transported to a migrant station in Itzapalapa before being sent to Villahermosa and Tapachula, cities in the south of the country, despite Mexico City describing itself as a “sanctuary city” for migrants.

A spokesperson for Casa Tochan, a migrant shelter in Mexico City, told Latin America Reports that “not only is this a flagrant violation of human rights, it’s also a violation of the rule of law. We don’t know what’s happening with those who’ve been detained because they’re unreachable – they haven’t been given the right to the phone call that they’re entitled to in the event of a legal arrest.”

The Supreme Court has also described the recent raids as unconstitutional.

Despite reports and testimonies shared on national and international news media, the INM has publicly rejected the notion that they are carrying out “raids”, instead stating that their actions come following a “request for cooperation from the competent authorities of Mexico City, with the intention of preventing any criminal acts.” 

Some speculate the operations are part of a beautification drive ahead of the World Cup games, of which Mexico is a co-host.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) has been facing severe delays since the COVID-19 pandemic, with southern states like Chiapas being hit the hardest. Since Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, there have been 18 migrant caravans leaving from Tapachula, Chiapas. Members of the David Caravan, which set off at the end of April, cited the extreme delays in COMAR’s asylum processing as a key reason for their movement.

Featured image description: Government building in Mexico City

Featured image credits: ProtoplasmaKid via Wikimedia Commons

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The Mexican government, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, said on March 17 that it is open to hosting Iran’s matches at the upcoming 2026 World Cup if FIFA agrees to the proposal – despite the recent U.S. intervention in the country. 

The U.S. is a co-host of this year’s emblematic football tournament alongside Mexico and Canada. 

Earlier, Iran’s football federation urged FIFA to consider relocating its World Cup matches from the U.S., citing safety concerns after recent U.S. airstrikes ordered by the administration of President Donald Trump.

U.S. officials have not yet responded to the matter. However, they had stated security preparations are ongoing for hosting matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup. 

President Trump commented on Iran’s participation, noting that it might not be appropriate for the team to play in the United States “for their own life and safety.” 

Meanwhile, Iran has insisted that if the U.S. cannot guarantee the security of its national team, it will not travel to the country. FIFA has not confirmed any specifics.

Mehdi Tak, President of the Iranian Football Federation, said he is “negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico,” in a post on the Iranian Embassy in Mexico’s X account. 

As the decision ultimately rests with FIFA, rejecting Iran’s request to transfer its matches — a move that would pose a major logistical challenge — could risk the country’s participation. Despite this, FIFA said it is looking forward to all teams competing according to the schedule announced on December 6, 2025.

Meanwhile, Mexico is carrying out extensive security preparations for the World Cup matches it will host.

Mexico’s security preparations ahead of 2026 World Cup

As the 2026 World Cup approaches, the Mexican government reported enhancements to its security strategy, originally initiated and launched in 2024 under President Sheinbaum. 

Plan Kukulkán was initially developed to address broader security challenges including cartel-related violence, and has now been adapted to ensure the safety of soccer fans visiting Mexico’s major host cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey — for the 2026 World Cup. 

Amid fears that recent cartel violence could flare again following the assassination of cartel leader “El Mencho”,  Plan Kukulkán deployed 100,000 personnel, including 20,000 armed forces and 55,000 public security agents, with additional support from civilian and private security teams.

“There is no risk for fans,” said Sheinbaum in late February. 

In addition to armed forces’ deployment, technological support includes 24 tactical aircraft for rapid response and 33 drones for aerial monitoring of stadiums, fan zones, and transport hubs. 
FIFA is also expected to conduct further reviews of Mexico’s security and mobility plans in the run-up to the event.

Featured image: Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Image credit: Alejan98 via Wikimedia Commons.

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Medellín, Colombia – Since early May, Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) has carried out a wave of raids targeting migrants, mainly of Venezuelan and Central American origin, in Mexico City.

NGOs across the city have denounced the intensified anti-migrant operations, with reports that those submitting to legal processes seeking asylum or residency in Mexico are being detained despite having the correct documentation.

The recent tactics used by the INM, such as raiding houses, taking away migrants’ cellphones and documents, and targeting online delivery drivers, have been compared to the tactics used by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Rights groups have in recent weeks denounced the immigration raids, with Lorena Cano, the juridical coordinator for the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI), calling them “totally irregular.”

A group of NGOs – including Support to Venezuelan Migrants, IMUMI, and the Juridical Clinic Alaíde Foppa of the Iberoamerican University – made a formal complaint before the National Commission for Human Rights earlier this month denouncing the targeting of online delivery drivers in a shopping center in the upmarket neighborhood of Polanco. 

They also criticized that many people who were already undergoing the processes for refugee status were transported to a migrant station in Itzapalapa before being sent to Villahermosa and Tapachula, cities in the south of the country, despite Mexico City describing itself as a “sanctuary city” for migrants.

A spokesperson for Casa Tochan, a migrant shelter in Mexico City, told Latin America Reports that “not only is this a flagrant violation of human rights, it’s also a violation of the rule of law. We don’t know what’s happening with those who’ve been detained because they’re unreachable – they haven’t been given the right to the phone call that they’re entitled to in the event of a legal arrest.”

The Supreme Court has also described the recent raids as unconstitutional.

Despite reports and testimonies shared on national and international news media, the INM has publicly rejected the notion that they are carrying out “raids”, instead stating that their actions come following a “request for cooperation from the competent authorities of Mexico City, with the intention of preventing any criminal acts.” 

Some speculate the operations are part of a beautification drive ahead of the World Cup games, of which Mexico is a co-host.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) has been facing severe delays since the COVID-19 pandemic, with southern states like Chiapas being hit the hardest. Since Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, there have been 18 migrant caravans leaving from Tapachula, Chiapas. Members of the David Caravan, which set off at the end of April, cited the extreme delays in COMAR’s asylum processing as a key reason for their movement.

Featured image description: Government building in Mexico City

Featured image credits: ProtoplasmaKid via Wikimedia Commons

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Medellin, Colombia — On Tuesday, a group of more than two thousand migrants, mainly of Haitian origin, reportedly left the southeastern city of Tapachula in Chiapas, on their way to cities in central and northern Mexico. 

In years past, migrant caravans traversing Mexico were usually destined for the United States. But following the second Trump administration’s tightening of asylum policy, this goal has become more unrealistic, and Mexico has increasingly become a destination country for migrants, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Some of the people who make up the “David” caravan have spent weeks or more in southern Mexico, waiting to normalize their migration status to be able to move more freely in Mexico, according to migrant news website Conexión Migrante. The process can be slow as Mexico fields more asylum requests. 

According to the UNHCR, between 2020 and 2024, there were almost 500,000 asylum requests in Mexico, a number that has resulted in long delays from the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) and the National Institute of Migration (INM). 

As of September 2025, there were more than 58,800 new asylum claims, and COMAR had increased its processing capacity fivefold since 2018.

Between October 1 2024 and June 30 2025, there were 142,145 requests for humanitarian visas in Mexico, but only 5,191 were granted, according to the INM Strategic Plan.

The bureaucratic problems pre-date Trump’s immigration crackdown in his second term. 

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced COMAR to suspend activity, accumulating a backlog of asylum petitions. Exacerbating the issue was Trump’s January 2025 suspension of the CBP One digital asylum-seeking app in the U.S., followed by budget cuts to COMAR from the Mexican government as well as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). 

Via a Whatsapp group organized for the caravan, many members cited extreme delays for processing asylum applications as a motive for heading north from Mexico’s southern border. Lack of employment and cost of living were also cited, according to Conexión Migrante. 

Without documentation, many foreign migrants are stuck in a legal limbo, where they run the risk of being stopped by authorities, deported or sent back to the southern border with Guatemala. 

Migrants have also been targeted by criminal groups for kidnapping and extortion, with ProPublica reporting that this problem has entered a new phase in terms of scale and character. Migrants’ undefined legal status also often forces them to work long hours with lower pay, according to the International Rescue Committee. 

Since Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, there have been 18 migrant caravans leaving from Tapachula, though none of them have made it further than Oaxaca, the state neighbouring Chiapas. 

At the end of March, the ‘Genesis’ migrant caravan set off from Tapachula, but it was intercepted after 12 days and dissolved by the INM.

According to local news outlet Diario del Sur, on Thursday, the David caravan arrived in Escuintla, Chiapas after three days of walking, where members will rest before continuing the journey. 

Many migrants were demonstrating signs of extreme physical exhaustion, and approximately thirty who fell behind the main group have been sent back to Tapachula, where they remain under the custody of the authorities, according to Reporteros del Sur.

Featured image description: David migrant caravan in Mexico

Featured image credits: @reporterosdlsur via X

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