• RECORD: Mexico has only approved 2,124 asylum requests in 2019 -according to new government data-, a figure that experts say is a reflection of an overwhelmed asylum system that was not meant to quickly process the rising numbers of asylum seekers that it has seen since 2016.
• REQUESTS: Asylum applications in Mexico have ballooned from 3,424 in 2015 to 66,915 in 2019, according to Mexican government data. Around 40,000 of them are from applicants from Central American countries but also there are at least 15,000 from Venezuela and Cuba.
• PROCESS: Back in November, Mexico’s refugee agency (COMAR) said that at least 43,000 asylum cases were still pending to be resolved mostly due to lack of resources. Despite requesting USD 6.5 million in budget for 2020 to face the rising backlog, COMAR only got USD 2.4 million.
• RESOURCES: “The only additional resources that will be needed in 2020 will be to support COMAR. It went from serving less than 10,000 to having to serve almost 70,000”, Mexican Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said Wednesday hinting that COMAR may get additional money.
