Mexico All but Empties Migrant Shelters Citing COVID-19 Risk

Mexico has almost entirely cleared out its migrant shelters over the past five weeks citing health hazards in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed Sunday.

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In a statement, the National Migration Institute (INM) said that in order to comply with health and safety guidelines, since March 21 it had been removing about 3,759 migrants from Mexico’s 65 migrant facilities, returning most of the occupants to their countries of origin

Mexico has returned 3,653 migrants to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador by road and air with the result that only 106 people remain in the shelters, authorities explained.

Among those who remained were migrants awaiting the outcome of asylum requests or judicial hearings, and others who had expressly sought permission to stay.

Meanwhile, Mexico reported COVID-19 infections among migrants deported recently from the United States. In Mexico's Tamaulipas state, across the Rio Bravo from the southern tip of Texas, officials say that the state is receiving roughly 100 deportees every day, some of whom are already sick when they arrive.

As of Sunday, Mexico has reported 14,600 cases and over 1,300 deaths.