President of the Citizens Committee for the Defense of Naturalized and African-Mexican Citizens (CCDNAM) Wilmer Matelus, denounced the Mexican government’s decision to deport 600 Haitians to Brazil.
Their government said that the Haitian immigrants didn’t qualify for a humanitarian visa, which Matelus dismissed and instead said that this decision seems like racism.
“According to the Mexican government, the Haitian immigrants are occupying a space meant for Mexican deportees from the U.S. To us, it is a racist decision by both the federal and state governments,” said Matelus.
Why, in #Tijuana, ‘different kind of #migrant‘ elicits help https://t.co/yOtTNLG54B @JOlafKleist @Climate_Refugee @CMSnewyork #Haiti #mexico
— Whitney Eulich (@weulich) June 15, 2017
There are currently 4,700 Haitian migrants in Mexico, out of which only 800 have humanitarian visas. The rest of the residents live illegally under poor living conditions.
Matelus is asking the government for the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) to set up an office in Tijuana, Baja California in order to handle asylum requests.
“Haitians aren’t criminals, they’re people who left their country due to lack of opportunities,” said Matelus.