The Haitian Challenge: How could Mexico contribute to manage the Haitian migration?

In September 2021, nearly 15,000 Haitian migrants crossed from Coahuila to Texas in what was the largest flow of Haitian migrants across Mexico-U.S. land border recorded in history.

The new migration policy announced by Biden Administration has been interpreted as a window of opportunity to migrate to the U.S. The vast majority of U.S-bound migrants originated from Latin America and the Caribbean and thus traveled through Mexico. Increasingly more have been claiming asylum in Mexico. With over 130 000 asylum claims in Mexico, Mexico emerged as a major new asylum destination.

The rapid increase of Haitian asylum seekers in Mexico challenged Mexican government with a policy dilemma. On the one hand, having resided in Chile and Brazil prior to arrival in Mexico, many Haitians do not qualify for refugee status in Mexico. On the other hand, persisting socio-economic crisis in Haiti makes their repatriation to Haiti highly difficult from humanitarian and logistical point of view. What challenges does Haitian migration pose as far as migration management is concerned? How can Mexican government, employers and civil society turn Haitian migration from a challenge into an opportunity? What should be the role of other countries in the region affected by Haitian migration either as countries of origin or transit?

To find answer to these and other questions, please join Piotr Plewa (Duke) for a conversation with Giovanni Lepri, the UN Refugee Agency's Representative in Mexico.

Register here: duke.is/wy6ts