Number of migrant children in Mexico increased by 131% in 2019, IOM builds government capacities for comprehensive assistance

Mexico City - According to the National Migration Institute of Mexico, there was a 131% increase in number of migrant children and adolescents in the country in the first half of 2019, as compared to the same period in 2018. Between January and June of 2019, 33 thousand of the people who appeared before the Mexican migration authority were minors, and 26% (8,500) were unaccompanied by an adult. Additionally, 21,900 adolescents were deported or returned to their countries through assisted return from Mexico during the same period. 

In response, IOM has hosted a series of regional meetings with representatives of the child protection systems of Mexico's border states. These workshops enable local governments to increase their capacities for comprehensive, timely assistance to migrant children. 

The meeting with officials from the southern border states of Mexico (Cancun and Quintana Roo) was held August 29-30. The event with state representatives from the northern border (Tijuana and Baja California) was held August 3-4.  

During these meetings, participants analyzed the conditions, characteristics, and dynamics of the migration flows crossing Mexico. They also enabled improvement of the implementation of the Standards for Comprehensive Consideration of the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Migration Situations, an instrument designed by the federal government with support from IOM, UNICEF, and UNHCR which defines specific institutional responsibilities as well as the weaknesses identified in the existing governmental instruments designed for that purpose.  

These activities are part of the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica - The Caribbean, which is financed by the Department of State of the United States. At the regional level this Program, within the framework of the Regional Conference on Migration, has enabled the design and implementation of the Regional Action Guidelines for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents in the Context of Migration. 

“The migration of children and adolescents is a priority issue in terms of migration governance at the global level and in the Americas,” stated Alexandra Bonnie, coordinator of IOM’s Mesoamerica-The Caribbean Program.  “This is due to the phenomenon’s relevance, the complexity of its causes and effects, the specialized needs for assistance and protection, and the need for a comprehensive approach to the effective protection of the human rights of those who make up this population group.”