Mexico marks a milestone: 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers find stability and rebuild their lives
Mexico marks a milestone: 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers find stability and rebuild their lives
Makendy, a refugee from Haiti, was relocated through UNHCR's Local Integration Programme to Aguascalientes, where he secured a job an auto parts factory.
GENEVA – Since 2016, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has supported the integration into Mexican communities of 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, a notable example of solidarity by the country and its people.
“Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can find the stability they need to restart their lives with dignity,” said Giovanni Lepri, UNHCR´s Representative in Mexico. “A strong asylum system and legal framework allows an effective integration of asylum-seekers and refugees.”
More than 50,000 refugees who arrived in southern Mexico have been screened and granted asylum by the Government and successfully relocated to industrial cities through UNHCR's Local Integration Programme, implemented in close coordination with the federal and local levels of government and the private sector.
With access to formal employment, health services, education and housing, and by facilitating access to Mexican nationality, these refugees have achieved integration and stability.
Forced displacement in the Americas remains critical, driven by violence, persecution, human rights violations and insecurity, and exacerbated by the negative impact of disasters. UNHCR´s latest statistics showed that by mid-2024, the Americas hosted 20.3 million forcibly displaced people and others in need of international protection and assistance. Most forcibly displaced people from the region remain in Latin America and the Caribbean, where governments and communities strive to protect and include them, fostering solutions for their integration in host countries.
In this context, Mexico´s Local Integration Programme has been key in supporting refugees to rebuild their lives. With more than 650 companies actively participating, refugees contribute with their skills and experience to strengthen the Mexican economy, generating an annual fiscal contribution of US$15 million.
By focusing on stabilization and self-sufficiency through skill matching and enhanced local support, 94 per cent of working-age refugees secure formal employment within the first month, 88 per cent of school-age children enroll in school, and 60 per cent of families rise out of poverty within a year – with clear pathways to Mexican nationality.
UNHCR has also been able to support the integration of refugees who arrive directly in areas with greater employment opportunities. More than 160,000 asylum-seekers and refugees have received UNHCR’s support in finding job opportunities, having their diplomas recognized, accessing public services, and facilitating their naturalization process.
The Local Integration Programme encourages other States to adopt good practices for the full integration of refugees. The Programme has also included internally displaced women, and in 2025, the initiative will expand to support Mexican deportees who, for protection reasons, cannot safely return to their communities of origin.
The initiative is part of a consolidated regional strategy outlined in Cartagena +40 and the Chile Declaration and Plan of Action, which reaffirm Latin America’s leadership in refugee protection and solutions. As part of this broader strategy, Mexico´s efforts complement other initiatives in the region, such as Operação Acolhida in Brazil, which has benefited more than 145,000 people, as well as other national programmes facilitating the inclusion of refugees and displaced people across Latin America.
UNHCR calls on donors to continue investing in durable solutions for refugees that have proven successful, ensuring that Mexico remains a place where those forced to flee can find safety and stability.
Media contacts:
- In Mexico City, Silvia Garduño, garduno@unhcr.org, + 55 2848 7440
- In Panama, Analía Kim, kiman@unhcr.org, +507 6898 1846
- In Geneva: William Spindler, spindler@unhcr.org, +41 79 549 5998
