Foreign Affairs and Welfare Secretaries agree to strengthen Migrant Integration Centers

Foreign Affairs and Welfare Secretaries agree to strengthen Migrant Integration Centers

• Joint work on strengthening the centers is progressing in coordination with UN agencies.
• An inter-institutional group on migrant centers in Mexico will meet in the coming days.
  

During a joint visit to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, and Bienestar (Welfare), Ariadna Montiel Reyes, reaffirmed their commitment to support the Migrant Integration Centers (CIM) in Mexico.

There are currently three CIMs in northern Mexico: the Leona Vicario Center in Ciudad Juárez; the Valentina Ramírez Center in Matamoros; and the Carmen Serdán Center in Tijuana. Accompanied by the three CIM directors, Secretaries Bárcena and Montiel toured the Leona Vicario Center and spoke with the staff and beneficiaries to understand first-hand the needs and challenges they face.

During the tour, CIM director and head of the Leona Vicario CIM, Ana Laura Rodela Soto, explained the operation of the dormitories; the volunteer work; the teaching provided for students from preschool to high school; the jobs available and, in general, the dignified treatment received by migrants while in Mexico.

Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena highlighted Mexico's comprehensive inter-institutional approach to assisting migrants and refugees within the framework of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Comprehensive Migration Management (Ciaimm).

"We want Mexico's migrant and refugee centers to reflect our humanistic vision. We work in coordination to open new pathways and create alternatives so that migrants can find a new home in Mexico."

The secretaries announced the next session of the Ciaimm Working Group II on migrant centers, in order to present the CIM best practices for the forthcoming Multiservice Centers for Inclusion and Development in southern Mexico. Strategies to strengthen Mexico's migrant care centers will be addressed and Mexico's commitment to international cooperation in this area will be reaffirmed, highlighting the ongoing collaboration with UN agencies.

Bienestar Secretary Ariadna Montiel said that, since 2019, the CIMs have been benefiting people in situations of mobility and that "We are building a new model of integration and welfare."

Attending on behalf of the Foreign Ministry were: Chief Officer for North America Roberto Velasco Álvarez; the Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid), Gloria Sandoval Salas; Mexico's Consul General in El Paso, Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de León; Director General of Consular Protection and Strategic Planning Vanessa Calva Ruiz; Director General of Human Mobility Arturo Rocha Hernández; and the Director General of Political Affairs for North America, Cristina Planter Riebeling.

The Bienestar Ministry was represented by the head of the Interinstitutional Liaison Unit, Óscar del Cueto García; the Director of CIM Juarez, Ana Laura Rodela Soto; the Coordinator of the Valentina Ramírez Avitia CIM in Matamoros, Osmara Infante; and the coordinator of the Carmen Serdán CIM in Tijuana, Nataly Cota Briseño.

The secretaries' visit reaffirms Mexico's vision of creating open-door spaces where, in coordination with international organizations and civil society, new opportunities and social protection programs are provided for migrants in Mexico.