In the past six years, the escape of foreigners held at stations of Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) went from 115 cases registered in 2013 to 1,923 in the current year, which represented a 1,574.78% increase .
In response to a request for information filed by EL UNIVERSAL, the General Directorate for Migration Control and Verification at the INM revealed that a total of 2,661 foreigners had escaped from INM facilities throughout the country since 2013.
In 2013, only 115 people escaped from migration facilities; in 2014, only 114 escaped; in 2015, the number rose to 152; a total of 167 foreigners escaped in 2016. However, only 112 foreigners escaped in 2017, and a mere 78 in 2018.
From January to May, a record number of migrants escaped from detention centers, with a total of 1,923.
The institute claimed that most migrants who had managed to elude security at the INM centers were of Cuban and Honduran origin , though there were also Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and Nicaraguans.
However, the government body mentioned that there were also foreigners from China, India, Georgia, Togo, Somalia, Albania, and Bangladesh.
INM authorities also informed that most migrants escapes have occurred in Tapachula, Chiapas.
On April 25 of the present year, the government body saw an unprecedented escape. At night, a group of Cuban citizens broke into the women’s section, the kitchen, and other places in the Tapachula post, which has a capacity for 900 people, and released all of the foreigners who were being held temporarily while their migratory status was being determined by Mexican authorities.
The government body informed that the group of migrants had been able to reach the courtyard and open the main gate, through which around 1,200 migrants escaped , 700 of which returned voluntarily.
“From that day on, we’ve seen an increase in escapes and uprisings,” stated the INM.
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