The organization has been doing this since March and still aims to continue the endeavor until Mexico is wholly cleared of migrants in compliance with safety and health measures. In the statement, INM said that the asylums and centers could shelter up to 8,524 individuals.

As of yet, only 106 remained in the migration centers following the deportation of thousands since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the report by Reuters, Mexico has returned 3,653 migrants to the countries of the southern triangle, which were El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Containment and Deportation

Migration expert Victor Clark Alfaro said, "Mexico's policy is to contain and deport."

He added that the announcement came simultaneously with the preventive measures of the federal government must maintain the decrease of migrant count from the pressure brought by U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration sought to control the illegal immigrant population in the States.

Just recently, President Trump announced the deportation of 10,000 border crossers that he made use of the powers of the national emergency to expand the authority of the Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico boundary to expel migrants being detained.

As of the moment, more migrants are being kept under the protection of religious and non-government organizations. The rest of the migrants who remained in the migration centers are still waiting for the verdicts from their judicial hearings or for the requests for asylum.

A significant number of these foreign nationals asked permission to remain in Mexico until the pandemic is over. A lot more in the migrant centers wanted to leave due to the risk of infection.

Federal government officials reported that the majority of the migrants were deported because they illegally entered Mexico. There was a detainment period before the migrants were sent to the authorities.

Most of the migrants were merely passing through Mexico to get to the U.S. They were deported by the Border Patrol in the United States and were then handed over to Mexico's custody. More than forty of these migrants sent to Mexico from the U.S. have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.

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The danger in detaining and deportation?

Last week, a judge in Mexico released migrants who were at high risk of COVID-19 from the detention centers. Human rights groups protested against this move.

To protect migrants from the pandemic, the activists insist that these migrants must also be given proper consideration since the federal authorities did not prioritize their health.

Alex Mensing, who was a spokesperson for the transborder nonprofit organization Pueblos Sin Fronteras, said that Mexico was just leaving Guatemalan migrants near the border without being tested or provided healthcare essentials in the time of the pandemic.

"Mexico's authorities are not taking into account the danger posed by COVID-19," Mensing said, adding that the model for Trump's policy may not be applicable for the nation.

He also said that the migrants in the centers and asylums did not get the adequate medical attention that would have given them proper treatment and testing. This would pose a danger for both the migrants and the Mexican citizens.

In response, the INM said its facilities were often sterilized and sanitized, and migrants did get medical treatment.