Date: August 14, 2019
Contact:
Lauri Alvarez | Program Assistant
lalvarez@lawg.org, 202-546-7010
Immediate Release
LAWG Joins More than 30 International Organizations in Denouncing Harassment and Intimidation of Migrant Shelter Staff, Urge Mexican Government to Investigate
Washington, D.C. – In a statement, thirty-four international organizations expressed support for staff of the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo and staff at other migrant shelters throughout Mexico who have suffered threats, intimidation and harassment from Mexican authorities.
On July 20, Mexican Federal Police officers attempted to enter the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo, a migrant shelter in the northern state of Coahuila, to conduct an immigration check. Mexican law forbids such checks in migrant shelters. When shelter staff refused the police entry, police threatened the staff. Three days later, National Guard and Municipal Police officers attempted to conduct an immigration check at the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo. When staff of the shelter denied them entry, again citing the law, the National Guard and Municipal Police officers videotaped and photographed shelter personnel.
Since 2010, those working at the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo have had precautionary orders from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They also have protection measures from the Mexican government’s protection mechanism. The 34 international organizations signing the statement demanded that all protection measures granted to Casa del Migrante de Saltillo and other shelters in Mexico be fully carried out.
“The multiple aggressions and acts of harassment faced by the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo are not isolated events but reflect an increasingly adverse climate in Mexico for the defense of the human rights of migrants, refugees, and others subject to international protection,” the statement reads.
The organizations supporting the statement “urge the Mexican government to respect the rights of migrants and their defenders and to fully investigate and sanction the officials involved in intimidating, threatening, and harassing the staff at Casa del Migrante de Saltillo and staff at other shelters in Mexico.”
Full Statement and list of supporting organizations can be seen in English and Spanish.
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