US to Accept Asylum Requests in Southern Mexico

(ANSA) – WASHINGTON, AUGUST 23 – The United States has expanded the areas in Mexico from which migrants arriving from Guatemala can request an asylum interview using the CBP One app. The U.S. government app, launched in October 2020, did not allow migrants in the southernmost states of Mexico bordering Guatemala until yesterday, Thursday, August 22. Starting today, however, it is possible. The government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador hopes that migrants will be able to wait for their asylum interviews in southern Mexico, without risking interception by organized crime groups that harass migrants traveling north. Giovanni Lepri, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, in Mexico, said that the measure could mean fewer risks for migrants heading north. But he also added that addressing migration requires several measures, “such as stabilizing countries of origin, protection in transit countries and more options for regularization and asylum in destination countries.” (ANSA).