Deported Migrants Are Arriving In Mexico Malnourished And Dehydrated, Expert Says

Many migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border, both those trying to enter the country and the ones being deported, show signs of malnourishment, an expert said.

Speaking to Border Report, Aaron Morales, coordinator with United Borders for Health, said most migrants also suffer from intestinal illnesses and dehydration. The organization reached the conclusion after providing care for some 22,000 migrants at different shelters across Tijuana over the past year.

The expert added that most migrants also "suffer from poor dental hygiene, which has led to periodontal and gingivitis issues."

Conditions at border shelters vary, especially when locations deal with heavy influxes of migrants. That was the case at Casa del Migrante in Hidalgo, which last month was operating above capacity as many chose to wait at the border and see if conditions allowed them to try to enter the U.S.

Mayra Guadalupe Garza, a volunteer known as "Mayra Migrantes" due to her dedication to the migrant communities in Reynosa and Matamoros, told The Latin Times that every migrant shelter in the city is facing similar problems since Trump's first executive orders left thousands of asylum seekers in limbo.

With deportations increasing and no legal pathways left for most asylum seekers, the number of stranded migrants is expected to rise. Garza and other volunteers continue to provide support but resources are running low, making it difficult to sustain the growing number of migrants in need.

Garza started a private Facebook community in which she announces some of the shelters' most critical needs. Volunteers have been requesting diapers of all sizes, winter clothing, food, and prayers.

"The food is getting worse," Garza explained. "Now, it's just lentils every day. If you're at home, lentils are fine once in a while, but imagine eating them every day. And dinner? Just bread with coffee or milk."

Conditions are reportedly not much better at many ICE immigration centers, many of which have been accused of engaging in abusive practice. Last September, a study conducted by Temple University law students and the Philadelphia-based immigrant advocacy group Juntos detailed "inhumane, punitive and dangerous conditions."

One of the most revealing testimonies in the study belonged to Santiago, an Afro-Latino immigrant from Colombia, who recounted his experience of being detained at Moshannon for six months, during which he said he was "treated like an animal" and subjected to racist behavior by officers:

"Two months they put me in the hole, locked up in a cell. As if I were a criminal, as if I had murdered someone, when all I had done was argue with a fellow detainee. I felt very frustrated, I felt like I was going to go crazy in that place."

Of the 77 immigrants interviewed for the report, more than half reported medical or mental health issues, with 50% experiencing general mistreatment by facility staff. Additionally, 30% reported being subjected to racial or derogatory slurs, and 6% said they were victims of physical force.