Thousands of migrants deported from the United States to Mexican territory face conditions of abandonment, violence and risk of recruitment by organized crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned in a recent report released this week.

The organization documented that more than 12,000 foreigners have been expelled from the United States to Mexico since 2021, many of them sent to entities in the south of the country where criminal groups and human trafficking networks operate.

According to HRW, deportees are trapped in legal limbo, without documents, employment or access to basic services.

According to the report, several deported migrants reported having been victims of extortion, threats and kidnappings by criminal organizations.

The situation is especially critical in states such as Chiapas and Tabasco, where the territorial control of drug trafficking groups has increased in recent years.

HRW noted that many of the affected people lived for decades in the United States and were deported after facing immigration proceedings or convictions for minor crimes. Upon arriving in Mexico, they lack family networks, economic resources and institutional protection.

The organization also denounced that deportations are carried out under non-transparent agreements between the governments of Mexico and the United States, without sufficient mechanisms to guarantee security, medical care or alternatives for immigration regularization.

“The abandonment of these people places them in a situation of extreme vulnerability to organized crime,” warned HRW, noting that some migrants end up being recruited by criminal groups or forced to work for illicit networks.

The report called on both governments to implement urgent measures of humanitarian protection, access to refuge and legal mechanisms to prevent deportees from being exposed to violence, exploitation and disappearances.