Dozens of migrants riot in a detention center in southern Mexico

Dozens of migrants, mostly Central Americans, rioted Wednesday night at an immigration facility in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. They denounce that they are overcrowded, without food or water.

“I have been detained here for more than 20 days, with my two children. If they are not going to deport us, they better let us free, because there is no space to sleep. I sleep in the open air,” said Salvadoran José Carrasco, who approached the gates of the immigration center to speak to the press.

The 39-year-old man said that some 400 people of different nationalities have been detained for more than a month and a half, waiting for the National Migration Institute (INM) to define their legal situation.

As the man spoke, other migrants beat the bars of the place demanding medical attention, food and water.

The situation was brought under control after police officers arrived at the scene. The incident left no injuries.

Thousands of people, mainly Central Americans, have returned to the border hoping to cross and request asylum, claiming the poverty and violence they suffer in their countries of origin.

Only in February, United States detained some 100,000 people at its southern border, including nearly 9,500 unaccompanied minors, a 28% increase from January. And the US government expects this year a record arrival of migrants in 20 years.

The government of Mexico, for its part, has strengthened surveillance on its border with Guatemala to prevent the passage of undocumented immigrants who try to reach United States.

On the same Wednesday, the INM reported that, between January 1 and March 21, 31,492 migrants have been registered, which represents an increase of 18% compared to the same period in 2020.