US Immigration Policy: Some migrants staying in Mexico as US cracks down

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02:49

A growing number of migrants from Latin America are stopping well short of their intended destination. With the Trump administration cracking down on crossings at the US-Mexico border, many are looking for refuge further south. Alasdair Baverstock reports.

For Dunia Dolores, a Central American migrant in Mexico, life has never been more uncertain. Two months ago, she and her two daughters fled violence in Honduras, taking with them only what they could carry.

"We rode on the Beast train to Orizaba, they attacked us, and they stole everything."

But, she says, while riding the notorious, northbound freight trains known as The Beast, they were robbed and lost everything.

Recently arrived in Mexico City, Dunia is now seeking to remain here.

DUNIA DOLORES HONDURAN MIGRANT "My sister was murdered in Honduras, and I will not allow the same future for my daughters. I want a good life for them, and not to have to live through the things that I have."

Dunia is one of thousands of Central Americans seeking asylum from Mexico's government.

ALASDAIR BAVERSTOCK MEXICO CITY "While the United States remains the ultimate goal for most Central American migrants, Washington's ever-stricter immigration policy along its Southwest Border has left many of those displaced from Honduras and El Salvador turning instead to Mexico for refuge."

Sin Fronteras is an NGO that seeks to help them, but says the process is challenging here too.

SANDRA ALVAREZ SIN FRONTERAS NGO "Of the fourteen-thousand applications for asylum from Central Americans in Mexico last year, only 216 were accepted. So while in theory Mexico's immigration policy is open to all, in practice this is not the case."

Yet for those who are determined to remain, many say Mexico offers more opportunities than its northern neighbor.

A migrant herself, Lilian Mendoza now runs a restaurant that has become a haven of Honduran culture in the Mexican capital.

LILIAN MENDOZA EL TRAPICHE HONDURAN RESTAURANT "On their way, migrants realize that the American Dream doesn't exist, and that they can be better off in Mexico. There are no problems starting a life or business here, as long as it's all done legally, that's why so many choose to stay."

Dunia says it's in Mexico that she sees a better life for her girls. But her hopes for remaining, like thousands of others', hang in the balance. Alasdair Baverstock, CGTN, Mexico City.