Many Central American migrants are staying in Mexico
Some join family members, others are drawn by better opportunities to work
FOR YEARS Juan and Marta ran a successful transport company in El Salvador that attracted the attention of gangs. Thugs held them at gunpoint and extorted money from them. In 2019 Juan left to claim asylum in Mexico. He was given permission to stay and found work. In April Marta and their three children were allowed to join him. They are thrilled by the prospect of a quieter life in the northern Mexican city of Saltillo. Nothing is as good as at last feeling secure, says Marta. “It gives you back life.”
Latin American migrants, mostly from the “Northern Triangle” of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, are attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the United States in ever higher numbers. In May 180,000 arrived there, the highest monthly total in more than 20 years. The number of arrivals in April was almost as large.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "A destination in its own right"
From the June 19th 2021 edition
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