UN refugee chief asks Mexico to do more for asylum seekers
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United Nations’ top official for refugees is calling on Mexico to devote more resources to the country’s badly overtaxed refugee aid agency.
High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says that the number of people seeking asylum in Mexico is only expected to grow as the United States makes it more difficult to seek asylum there.
In 2014, Mexico received 2,100 requests for asylum. Through the first eight months of this year it received more than 48,000.
Grandi spent four days visiting shelters and other facilities in the southern border state of Chiapas and northern border state of Coahuila.
In a statement Wednesday, Grandi said asylum seekers in Mexico are still waiting months for documents needed to give them access to work and social services.
