Group of Central American Migrants in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico Stage Protest

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2019

A group of approximately 300 Central American migrants who are being given temporary shelter in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, across from Eagle Pass, Texas, staged a protest on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, at approximately 11:25 P.M. against Mexican authorities for denying them a humanitarian visa that allows them to travel freely and work in Mexico for up to one year.

Mexican authorities have been interviewing and processing the over 1,800 Central American migrants that arrived on Monday, February 4, 2019, in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico in a 49 bus caravan to determine the eligibility of each migrant for a Mexican humanitarian visa that allows them to be able to travel freely and work in Mexico for up to one year. As part of this process, Mexican authorities have denied a group of approximately 300 Central American migrants the humanitarian visa due to various reasons such as a past criminal history, previous receipt of the humanitarian visa, illegal entry into the United States after being issued the humanitarian visa, having been deported from the United States or Mexico, and other reasons.

This particular group of Central American migrants who have been denied the humanitarian visa by Mexican authorities are being processed for deportation to their respective country by Mexican Immigration officials. 

As a result of their denial of a Mexican humanitarian visa, this group of 300 or so Central American migrants became restless and staged a protest at the temporary shelter in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico against Mexican authorities and requested that they be released and allowed to continue their journey into the United States in order to seek asylum, causing the mobilization of local, state, and federal police elements and military troops to control the protest and ensure the overall peaceful processing and handling of the over 1,800 Central American migrants.

The protesting Central American migrant group had discussions with Mexican authorities, often heated and laced with profanity, regarding their demand to be released from the temporary shelter and be allowed to continue their journey.  After a tense one to two hours of negotiations, the disgruntled Central American migrant group of about 300 migrants settled down and temporarily withdrew their demand to be released from the temporary shelter.

Piedras Negras, Coahuila Mayor Claudio Bres Garza stated that the temporary shelter will more than likely be closed down within the next two to three weeks after Mexican authorities complete the processing and handling of each Central American migrant that arrived as part of this caravan.  Mayor Bres Garza noted that many Central American migrants have been issued a Mexican humanitarian visa while many other migrants have requested to be deported to their home country or have requested to be transferred to other cities within Mexico such as Monterrey, Matamoros, and Reynosa.

Mexican authorities are collaborating with United States authorities and United Nations Refugee officials concerning the processing and handling of these Central American migrants.

In addition to this 1,800 Central American migrant caravan, Piedras Negras, Coahuila receives about 30 to 50 migrants from Central American and other worldwide countries on a daily basis that arrive through their own or other means, stretching this border community’s migrant resources beyond capacity levels.