[Guadalajara, Jal. May 25, 2020] The Rhizome Center for Migrants and 35 U.S. and Mexican organizations call on the Trump and Lopez Obrador administrations to urgently address the impact of ongoing deportations and expulsions of children, asylum seekers, and migrants during COVID-19.

As organizations representing civil society in the region, we are alarmed by the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to persons who seek international protection and the expulsion of unaccompanied children without providing any protection measures during a time when the U.S. government continues to deport detained immigrants, sometimes from detention centers with known outbreaks.  

The continual deportation and expulsion of persons occurs without proper health screening and testing procedures. Upon arrival in Mexico, there are no strict requirements that persons deported or turned around be tested for COVID-19, quarantined, or given a face mask as required by Mexican cities and states along the border. The inefficient and ineffective detection and control measures implemented by both the United States and Mexico has resulted in U.S. deportees being linked to outbreaks at migrant shelters. 

In Mexico, after removal from the United States, deported individuals face limited shelter options, homelessness in many cases, insecurity, distress, xenophobia, an unresponsive healthcare system, and a crashing economy. The closure of many government offices has added to an already desperate situation by making it impossible to obtain identity documents needed to apply for social protection programs. The failure of the Mexican government to consider and include deported persons in Mexican policy and health decisions has left these individuals without access to work, government benefits, or services of any kind, during one of the most widespread pandemics in history.

While the epicenter of the global health crisis remains in the Western Hemisphere, organizations serving migrants and displaced persons call on the Trump and Lopez Obrador administrations to immediately coordinate efforts to maintain the safety of all inhabitants of the North American region. 

To read the full statement and our recommendations, click here.