A Salvadoran man was kidnapped and murdered in the Mexican city of Tijuana. Tijuana, a border city, is where a large number of asylum-seekers are being sent to await entry to the United States. Although the city is known to be particularly dangerous, many asylum-seekers are given no option. The 35 year old Salvadoran man, who’s name will be kept anonymous, was stabbed several times, with authorities stating that his body was “dismembered.” He had been in Tijuana for four months awaiting his asylum hearing. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon for asylum-seekers. Human Rights First, an organization based out of New York City, has revealed that at least 636 migrants in Mexico have been victims of rape, kidnapping, assault, torture, and other acts of violence. This is just the number of cases that were reported. There are undoubtedly hundreds or thousands of more cases that have not been reported for one reason or another. If I had to guess, my assumption would be that people were either too afraid to report their cases, or sadly not alive to do so. Many migrant families are becoming frustrated with the violence, given that they are trying to do the right thing by entering the country legally. These cruel acts are being credited to several gangs, claiming a minimum of 200,000 lives in Mexico. This has led to a record level of murders in 2018. If the trend continues, which seems to be happening, they will certainly reach record levels again. At this point, with nearly 55,000 migrants being sent through Mexico, the situation for these migrants is terrifying. People in control of the border refuse to attribute the violence to Trump’s policies, instead placing the blame of the criminals. Personally, I agree. Mexico is not the United States. However, I truly believe that safer arrangements should be made for these asylum-seekers. While I understand that Tijuana is a convenient city as it is a border city, it is extremely dangerous. There are certainly safer cities that could be used, even if they aren’t as close to the border.
