IPS
September 29, 2010
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
- {openx:49}
Travelling without documents to the United States from Latin America can turn into an odyssey, in which migrants have to elude common criminals and drug traffickers along the way, not to mention the laws on migration. But now another obstacle is emerging: a wall between Guatemala and Mexico.
According to the head of customs for Mexico’s tax administration, Raúl Díaz, in order to stop boats carrying contraband, the southern Mexican state of Chiapas is building a wall along the border river Suchiate, similar to the one the United States is building along its southern border with Mexico.
“It could also prevent the free passage of illegal immigrants,” admitted the Mexican official.
Smugglers use the Suchiate River to move products across an international border without paying duty taxes, but at the same time, thousands of Central and South Americans cross the river in their attempts to reach the United States in search of opportunity — and without the required documents.
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Some 500,000 migrants cross Mexican territory without permission each year, according to Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH).
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