By Carola Rico
Guanajuato is a large exporter of migrants, and most of them travel to Texas. After the tragedy of the trailer transporting 67 migrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador that was abandoned in Texas, at Atención we asked ourselves what actions could be taken by governments and civil organizations to prevent this type of tragedy in the future.
San Miguel de Allende has had a long history of field workers who have contributed to their communities with many success stories. However, it is important to support our immigrants, and to highlight how the risks can be prevented for those who travel to the United States in search of better life opportunities.
Libia García, Secretary of the State of Guanajuato government, stated on her last visit to San Miguel de Allende, that there were seven people from Guanajuato who died in the Texas tragedy. These deaths have yet to be corroborated by scientific evidence, and there is the possibility of errors. She stated that three were from Cortazar, three from Celaya, and one from Valle de Santiago. There are still nine migrants who have not been identified, and among them there could be some Guanajuato residents, although it is not likely.
García explained that the Guanajuato Migrant Office (SEMIG) has been in touch with the relatives of those Guanajuato residents who have died. The governor has instructed that these families receive support for the repatriation of the bodies and for any other necessities. In addition, through the Ministry of Health, these families are being channeled for psychological support.
Mauricio Trejo Pureco, the mayor of San Miguel, stressed that the new international companies coming into the area will be offering the people of San Miguel well-paid jobs. In addition, the introduction of these new companies is part of a political strategy to discourage people from the countryside and rural communities from traveling abroad. He stressed that our heritage city, in addition to its tourism revenue, also has an industrial sector to generate well-paid employment with good benefits.
Trejo pointed out that there are some people who leave because of cultural reasons and that not much can be done in that regard. But he said, «We can do a lot for those who leave out of necessity.» Although the mayor does not know the exact number of people who emigrate, he said that there are many people in San Miguel who travel to the United States from different rural communities. Trejo stated that the office of Citizen Attention and Economic Development is working closely with the executives of the new companies in the industrial sector in order to provide information on the sources of employment that are opening up.
The Civil Association, Caminamos Juntos (Let’s Walk Together), of San Miguel recently held a meeting shortly after the Texas tragedy when they looked at the possibility of collaborative work. Those at the meeting were: Érika Maricela Montés Ruiz, US Consul in Mexico; Susana Guerra Vallejo, Undersecretary of Hospitality and Interculturality of the Guanajuato Migrant Office; Patricia Jurado Maycotte, Director of Economic Development for International Relations and NGOs; Montserrat Cabello Morales, head of the municipal office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in San Miguel de Allende; Araceli Badillo Ramírez, Liaison with the Migrant Secretariat and International Liaison, and Maria del Socorro Rodríguez Olvera, Coordinator of the Civil Registry area. They discussed the different obstacles facing dual nationality families as a result of return migration.
Ariel Díaz, Coordinator of Support and Education for the organization Caminamos Juntos, explained to Atención SMA that this type of inter-institutional collaboration is done with the purpose of covering all areas from different perspectives, both governmental and NGOs.
Díaz explained that it difficult to reach those people who have returned. Many cannot easily access certain services offered by the state and the municipality, because often they do not feel confident enough to do so. It is therefore very important that these institutions disseminate information about their activities so that everyone knows about them.
Caminamos Juntos is an association that assists migrants in activities such as: emotional care and educational placement. The organization also provides help to so that they can reconsider their actions and provide a means for people who want to return to their country, or to Mexico. Diáz stated that there is no specific data concerning the citizens who leave for the United States. She explained that there are many different types of migration. One, known as circular migration, occurs when people come and go regularly, with or without documents, to the United States.
Diáz added that there are also migrants seeking refuge or asylum due to forced displacement There is also the migration of retirees such as in San Miguel, where citizens of the United States, Europe, and Canada arrive. Each of the migrations are different and have their own particular needs. Caminamos Juntos guides and provides support on more specific integration issues in the new setting. She stressed that social integration involves not only providing public services. Social integration takes time because they have to deal with many aspects such as the assimilation of the new environment and to verify if that environment is favorable for the person, and that type of integration takes years.
Caminamos Juntos has been in San Miguel for four years. The reason they started their activities was to help the deportees with their principal needs such as food, home, and work. But the needs of migrants are variable, and now there are entire families and their needs are much greater. This was explained by Nicole Rayas, Operative Director of Caminamos Juntos.
