Migrants are more vulnerable due to the closure of the Comar

 

Amid a steady stream of migrants arriving in the country, many of whom are stranded in Mexico City in overcrowded shelters and makeshift camps, the central office of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance ( Comar ) in the Juárez neighborhood will have been closed for almost a month after a failed plan to open a new office in Anzures.

The UN Refugee Agency ( UNHCR ) stated that this situation is extremely worrying, as the capital is the city with the second highest number of asylum applications. In the first five months of 2024 alone, not counting the last week of May (when the Comar (National Refugee Commission) closed), more than 6,000 applications were received.

Last year, there were 140,812 asylum applications nationwide, and 30,623 in Mexico City , about 20 percent of the total, said Alejandra Carrillo, head of the UNHCR Field Office in the capital. She emphasized that this delegation is responsible for processing asylum applications in 20 states across the country where there are no UNHCR offices, including the states of Mexico and Puebla.

The Ministry of the Interior ( SG ) announced that Comar will remain closed until at least June 21.

In an interview with  La Jornada , Carrillo noted that thousands more affected asylum seekers would have to join those who had already begun the process, due to the  cancellation of many appointments for legitimacy interviews, notifications of positive or negative  resolutions, and the suspension of the signature process that applicants must complete every 15 days.

He explained that Comar also issues CURP (National Registry of Persons with Disabilities) to asylum seekers, monitors  family reunification requests nationwide,  and provides psychosocial support, among other services.