Mexican migrants fear deportation to Guatemala

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Mexicans seeking refuge in the U.S. could now be sent to Guatemala instead.

That's under U.S. rules made public on Monday (6 January 2020) that have asylum seekers at the border worried.

A deal to send Central Americans to Guatemala to seek refuge was part of a number of policies last year from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The rules now apply to Mexican migrants on top of people from Honduras and El Salvador.

Lizbeth says she and her four children fled violence hoping to enter the U.S.

She's waited in Tijuana for three months...now she faces more uncertainty.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN MIGRANT, LIZBETH, SAYING:

"It hit us like a bomb, I don't think any Mexicans want to go to Guatemala. First of all, we're seeking asylum in the United States because of all the problems we're facing here and second of all, we want to have a better future and sending us to Guatemala is not a good idea."

Guatemala is poorer and more dangerous than Mexico.

The Central American country has consistently had a higher homicide rate than its more prosperous northern neighbour.

Rosario also lives in a Tijuana tent city and feels Guatemala is a dangerous prospect.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN MIGRANT, ROSARIO, SAYING:

"Kids suffer and it doesn't make sense that they want to send us to a country where we also face danger, I don't think so. Supposedly we're seeking asylum for safety and the fact that they want to send us to a country where they're also fleeing violence is not fair."

A pro-migrant activist Jose Maria Garcia Lara says the new rules put immigrants at risk.

He says they won't stop looking for ways to enter America, ways that could be more dangerous.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ACTIVIST, JOSE MARIA GARCIA LARA, SAYING:

"They will look for other alternatives and you will see what we've been witnessing in border communities in this country. How do they do it? They will start climbing the border, crossing by sea or the desert or places far from the urban communities, putting their lives at risk. At the end of the day, people will find alternatives to cross to the United States."

It's unclear when the United States may start acting on the new rules and fly people like Lizbeth and Rosario to Guatemala.