The Secretaries of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico encourages the members of the migrant caravan to carry out the process applying for legal migration in Mexico so they could have access to the “You are in your Home” plan, announced this Friday by President Enrique Peña Nieto.
In a joint statement, they said that the plan has two main components: migrants who approach the migration authority and who so request, can access the Temporary Employment Program in Chiapas and Oaxaca, under the operating rules of the programs already existing. These temporary work options will be available for people of working age who go to the authorities of the National Institute of Migration (INM) to register their stay in the country, through the obtaining of a Unique Registration Code.
The other component is obtaining a Temporary Single Registry of Population Registration (CURP) for Foreigners, which ensures that migrants have proof of legal status and have the rights to access the services provided by the Mexican Government.
These services, they said, allow entering and leaving the shelters; get medical attention in the clinics of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS); and manage procedures, such as opening a bank account and education for minors.
Both agencies of the Mexican government explained that the federal resources will be allocated to the benefit of approximately six thousand people, through the modality of Temporary Employment Program, intended to address social emergencies and will be managed through the Ministry of Communications and Transportation.
The beneficiaries who obtain work will perform repairs, maintenance, and cleaning of public infrastructures, such as roads, streets and public spaces in different areas of Chiapas and Oaxaca.
They specified that the projects and activities in which the migrants who are legally documented will be evaluated and approved by the state committees of the Temporary Employment Program (PET) in Chiapas and Oaxaca.
They stated that the procedure is free and must be done in the offices of the National Institute of Migration (INM) to be a beneficiary of PET and the temporary CURP for foreigners, and it is essential that migrants are in the aforementioned states of Mexico.
Likewise, it is necessary that the migrant and accompanying family members have already applied for admission or recognition of refugee status with the INM, and that it is essential to observe and fully comply with current Mexican immigration legislation.
They indicated that the “You are in your Home” plan is a first step towards a permanent solution for those who obtain refugee status in Mexico, a procedure carried out by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar), with the accompaniment of the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Mexicans living in Chiapas and Oaxaca will also benefit from the PET, since it remains and extends its execution period for residents of both states.
The Mexican government reiterated that the unrestricted commitment to the human rights of migrants does not mean an endorsement of irregular, massive and undocumented migrants to Mexico, hence the call to those who wish to enter the country to follow the procedures and laws established in Mexico.
The recent migrant response to Mexico’s offer:
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Coordinators of the caravan read out the president’s plan and migrants shouted “Gracias!” but “No, we’re heading north!”
Activist Irineo Mujica of the Pueblo sin Fronteras group is supporting the migrants in the caravan. He told the group that 80 percent of those who apply for protective status would be rejected and deported.
However, not all migrants are following Mujica as Mexico has begun processing migrants under this new plan.