• Dear Minister,

    Thousands of undocumented migrants in transit through Mexico, including women and children, fall victim to beatings, abduction, rape and even murder. Criminal gangs are reportedly responsible for the majority of these crimes, but there are also reports of abuses by state officials.

    Migrants who suffer these abuses rarely file criminal complaints because they fear being deported. As a result, impunity for the perpetrators is endemic.

    A 2007 directive, which permits irregular migrants who have suffered or witnessed a crime to secure temporary visas while criminal proceedings take place, is not being applied. Instead, anyone who cannot prove their legal status, including migrant victims of crime, is handed over to migration authorities, under Article 67 of the General Population Law.

    I urge you to send a clear message that abuses against irregular migrants will not be tolerated in Mexico, by taking all necessary steps to help migrants file complaints when they suffer or witness abuses.

    Yours sincerely,
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