Human Rights Concerns Over Deportations to Mexico

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (AP) — The Trump administration has deported nearly 13,000 Cubans, Venezuelans, and people from other countries to Mexico, where they face cartel violence in an unfamiliar environment, according to a Human Rights Watch report released on Wednesday.

Although Mexico has accepted such deportations for years, those deported under the current U.S. administration are older and have lived in the United States for longer periods, complicating their efforts to find work and acquire medical care.

The report, based on more than 50 interviews conducted in the southern cities of Tapachula and Villahermosa in Mexico, is published amidst a series of immigration raids by U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at effectuating his plan for mass deportations.

This has meant that immigrants who were previously not targeted, such as longtime Cuban residents in the U.S., have been caught in these actions. Some countries, like Cuba and Venezuela, restrict deportation flights or do not accept deportees, resulting in them being sent to Mexico or other nations with whom the U.S. has arrangements.

Human Rights Watch’s Alcira Hava, a grant recipient at the organization, explained, Imagine being 60 or 70 years old, suddenly uprooted from your life and sent to a nation where you lack access to essential services—shelter, medical care—in dangerous cities with nothing but the clothes on your back. This, according to her, is the plight faced by many Cubans deported to Mexico.

The report indicates that more than 4,300 Cubans comprise the largest group sent to Mexico. Over half of the 41 Cuban interviewees have resided in the United States since the 1980s or 1990s, after arriving via the Mariel Boatlift or through the lottery program in the 1990s. Most had permanent resident cards, which they lost.

More than half of deported Cubans had criminal records, but just 16% were linked to violent crimes. A quarter had no criminal history.

Many were apprehended during routine checks with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while others were arrested at workplaces or public spaces. None were given hearings to contest their deportation to Mexico, even when they expressed safety concerns.

The Cuban diaspora, long benefitting from the Cuban Adjustment Act’s expedited route to residency and citizenship, is deeply affected by Trump’s immigration offensive.

In Mexico, these deportees are placed in southern cities with scarce job prospects and limited access to healthcare. Cartels exploit them, and they face a demanding process for gaining refugee status, often without meeting the requirements.

A shelter worker named Josué Leal in Villahermosa stated that their facility received deported Cubans up to 83 years old over the last year, which is atypical compared to the usual young men and families.

Leal commented, The U.S. discards them. Cuba discards them, adding it felt like a double punishment.

The process of deportations to a third country remains unclear, with neither the U.S. nor Mexico publicizing the agreement. HRW has urged both nations to make the agreement public and ensure due process and international law observance in these deportations.

Additionally, HRW called on Mexico to ensure medical treatment access and a path to regularize status for those unable to return to their home countries. The U.S. should halt such deportations unless guarantees are provided.