Mexico’s top immigration official claimed that in some cases his agents separated migrant families being detained in the country. The comments sparked much controversy forcing the National Migration Institute (INM) to walk back the statement, instead claiming that they took custody of unaccompanied minors.
The controversy began when INM’s Commissioner Francisco Garduno took questions from reporters during a work trip and a reporter asked if they continued seeing migrant children crossing into Mexico, to which he responded that migrants were “imprudent” for subjecting their children to dangerous conditions.
“They can’t put children for example to cross the (Rio Grande) exposing them to drowning,” Garduno said. “This is something that I have given instructions that if necessary that they take the children from the parents so we can protect the best interest of the children and we are not going to allow them to place their integrity or life at risk. Even if they are the parents. The state has to protect this right and be very aware.”
The comments drew immediate outrage from activists and human rights groups who claimed that taking migrant children away from their parents was illegal and human rights violation.
In response to the outrage at INM and its leadership, the institute sent out a prepared statement walking back the comments. The institute claims they do not remove children from parents but that they are seeing an increase in cases where parents or smugglers are abandoning children and underage teens in dangerous places such as river crossings, deserts, and mountain regions. This is where the agency works with other government entities to care for them.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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