Institution: International Labor Organization (ILO) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Year: 2019
Implementing partners:
International Labor Organization (ILO)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Brief overview:
Asylum claims in Mexico have increased by 580% since 2014. In 2017 alone, 14,596 persons applied for asylum in Mexico. The country’s recognition rate stood at 63.1%, including people recognized as refugees and people who received complementary protection. Despite the growing number of refugees, this group represents a small percentage of the population living in Mexico: in 2016, there were 0.048 refugees per 1,000 habitants.
Mexico is often described as a transit country for migrants and asylum seekers. In recent years, significant numbers of Central American nationals have crossed into Mexico, hoping for better income opportunities. Over the past three years, UNHCR and its civil society partners have observed that Mexico is, in fact, also a country of destination, with asylum-seekers clearly expressing their intention to stay in Mexico. According to data from the country’s migration authorities (INM 2016), about 63% of recognized refugees or beneficiaries of complementary protection obtained permanent residency in Chiapas and Tabasco, and 18% in Mexico City’s greater metropolitan area. The largest concentration of asylum-seekers and refugees has been identified in the southern border municipality of Tapachula, Chiapas, where 77% of the local population lives in poverty and 80% of jobs are informal.
Local integration represents the most feasible solution for refugees in Mexico, as the legal and economic conditions allow refugees to access formal, decent employment and other fundamental rights — including freedom of movement in Mexico. For these reasons, UNHCR undertook a collaboration project with the ILO in order to identify opportunities for ensuring the insertion of refugees onto the labour market in Mexico. In 2016-2017, the two agencies joined forces to conduct a market analysis in Chiapas and Mexico City, assessing the transportation, hospitality, and professional cleaning sectors.
Given the challenges in Tapachula and the high concentration of population entering Mexico via the southern border, UNHCR began a relocation programme in August 2016, covering from the country’s southern border states to the northern city of Saltillo, Coahuila.
Consultancy services provided were aimed to ensure the sustainability, scale, and replication of the programme implemented in Saltillo and to respond not only to the growing needs faced by refugees and other vulnerable populations in southern Mexico, but also to the socio-economic opportunities in central and northern Mexico. That included a more active engagement with development and government actors in order to promote the inclusion of displaced persons in social protection mechanisms and a coordinated effort to match their profiles with market demand through relocation, labour matching, and training opportunities. A public-private partnership approach to achieve scale with such a model created a win-win situation: facilitating formal wage-earning, education, and other opportunities for refugees while meeting the needs of the private sector and supporting the local economy.