Mexican media are discussing migration checks, which human rights organizations have already called “raids against foreigners.” Since the end of April, Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) has conducted several raids in various areas of the Mexican capital, during which migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Honduras and other countries, including those awaiting asylum in Mexico, were detained.
In connection with the detentions, several influential public organizations filed a complaint with the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH). They demand that the actions of the migration authorities be investigated and urgent measures taken to prevent new detentions.
The most resonant episode occurred on May 1 near the Miyana shopping center in the Polanco area. According to human rights activists, INM personnel conducted checks on digital platform delivery people and detained several foreigners right on the street. Some of the detainees had documents confirming that they had applied for asylum, meaning they were in Mexico legally. The migrants were fingerprinted and forced to sign papers without a chance to familiarize themselves with the contents. They were later taken to a migration center in the capital's Iztapalapa district and at night bused to migration stations in Villahermosa (Tabasco) and Tapachula (Chiapas).
Similar checks were carried out on Revolucion Avenue, in the Tepito and La Merced districts, where human rights activists say people were stopped and detained solely on the basis of their “appearance.” On May 4, representatives of the migration service carried out inspections in residential buildings and apartment buildings in the Buenavista area. In addition, eyewitnesses published videos of arrests near the Antara Fashion Hall shopping center in Polanco (INM office is located nearby), where about 10-15 people were put into INM minibuses in a short time. The video shows the harsh actions of migration agents.
INM denies carrying out «raids» and states that the checks were carried out at the request of the capital authorities as part of crime prevention. At the same time, public organizations claim that these are mass migration checks with elements of racial discrimination and arbitrary detention. Human rights activists associate the increased control with the city’s preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and attempts to «clean up» tourist areas before the international tournament.