Mexico: 13 Migrants from Islamic Republic of Mauritania Detained in Border Town

“This is a global problem, it shows there are no adequate or safe ways for people fleeing a conflict or persecution to come to Mexico and the United States, they have to depend on organized crime.”

Well, gee, that’s a shame, but exactly what conflict or persecution are they feeling in Mauritania?

“These groups of migrants are considered vulnerable because of the language barrier and other factors including religious persecution.”

What religious persecution do they face?

Above all, why did these men travel to the border? What did they intend to do?

13 Mauritanian migrants mistakenly arrested in Tijuana

by Salvador Rivera, Border Report, March 2, 2023:

TIJUANA (Border Report) — Tijuana police detained 13 migrants from the small Muslim nation of Mauritania when officers raided a hotel earlier this week.

Migrants from this Northwest African country, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, have rarely, if ever, been encountered in Tijuana, according to migrant advocates.

Initially, police said officers became suspicious when they saw a few men scatter and run into the property of the Hotel Jacuzzys.

The men were taken into custody, and their booking photos were released to the media.

After translators were called in, it was determined that the men were migrants who were being forced to stay at the hotel by a smuggling organization.

“It was a case of a rescue,” said Soraya Vazquez, a human rights activist in Tijuana.

Vazquez says the police department did not handle the situation properly….

“This is a global problem, it shows there are no adequate or safe ways for people fleeing a conflict or persecution to come to Mexico and the United States, they have to depend on organized crime.”

The 13 Mauritanian nationals have been turned over to the National Institute of Migration in Tijuana and are being detained because they have yet to prove they entered Mexico legally.

“These groups of migrants are considered vulnerable because of the language barrier and other factors including religious persecution,” Vazquez said….