By Tirzah Christopher Cronkite Borderlands Project
TAPACHULA, Mexico – Like adult migrants, children must wait here until they are granted humanitarian visas – a process that takes weeks or longer. During that time, most have scant access to health care, education, nourishing food or housing. Here’s a look at their condition in March 2022.
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A 4-year-old waits while his father cleans offices through a work program provided to migrants by the government. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)These brothers from Honduras, ages 2 and 5, have been sleeping in Bicentennial Park for a week while they make trips to the INM, COMAR and appointment scheduling offices every day in 80 degree heat. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)After getting snacks from vendors set up near the immigration office, a 6-year-old girl and her father get back in line to wait some more. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)For the third day in a row, a 6-year-old waits for hours with her mother for their immigration appointment. Outside the immigration office, the Mexican national guard acts as a barricade – fully armed. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)Daniela Cisneros and her son got in line outside the immigration office at 6 a.m. to wait for her husband’s appointment visa. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)Because the COMAR office in Tapachula has no designated waiting area, a mother chooses to breastfeed her baby outside. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)This 2-year-old and her parents had been waiting four hours outside the COMAR office for a confirmation of their visa appointment. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)Until they receive visas and other documents from the Mexican government, most of the thousands of child migrants who pass through Tapachula each day have almost no access to health care, education or housing. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)A 5-year-old eats her first meal of the day at noon: a day-old torta wrapped in plastic. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)Lines outside the offices of COMAR and INM – Mexico’s agencies for migrants and refugees – in Tapachula can stretch for blocks and last more than six hours a day. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)Bicentennial Park is home to many migrants when they first arrive in Tapachula, Mexico. Every corner, bench and ledge is a space for a child to eat, play and sleep. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)This 4-year-old traveled with his 14-year-old brother by foot and bus to Tapachula, Mexico, where they hope to receive humanitarian visas to travel to the United States. They haven’t been in communication with their parents in Haiti since arriving in Tapachula because a fellow migrant stole their phone. (Photo by Tirzah Christopher/Cronkite Borderlands Project)
