South Asian Migrants Detained in Mexico after a Four-Month Trek

By Jason Peña on August 27, 2019

The ongoing interior enforcement operations by Mexican authorities have generally yielded multitudes of migrants originating from neighboring Latin American nations. However, a growing number of migrants from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa have been apprehended throughout Central and South America traveling northbound toward the United States. My colleague, Todd Bensman, has written extensively on the dangers of Middle Eastern and South Asian migrants with ties to Al-Qaeda and ISIS entering through the southwest border.

Federal Police in Mexico recently discovered 65 migrants in an abandoned trailer in the eastern state of Veracruz, about 300 miles northwest of the border with Guatemala. Of the 65 migrants, 36 were from India, 17 were Bangladeshi, and the remaining 12 were Sri Lankan. Law enforcement observed several of the detained illegal aliens were in unsanitary quarters and exhibiting symptoms dehydration and hunger. The driver(s) of the trailer were not found or identified during the investigation. The National Migration Institute (INM) took custody of the group and transported them to a nearby migrant detention center.

The 65 migrants reportedly began their journey on April 28 in Sri Lanka, flying to Qatar, then Turkey, Colombia, and Panama, and ending the air travel portion of their trip in Ecuador. The migrants then traveled by bus to the Guatemalan border and entered Mexico on foot or by boat.

This most recent discovery of South Asian migrants in Mexico was not an isolated incident. In June, federal authorities rescued 24 Indian illegal aliens held in Mexico City, and in July, 13 Indian citizens were arrested in the southern border state of Chiapas for illegally entering Mexico.