Cancún Shelter Holds 32 Migrant Minors Awaiting Family Reunification

Cancún, Quintana Roo — A social assistance center in this Caribbean resort city is housing 32 migrant minors, both accompanied and unaccompanied, while authorities determine their legal status in Mexico, officials said.

The Center for Social Assistance for Migrant Children and Adolescents (CAS-NNAM) in the municipality of Benito Juárez is providing temporary shelter and support with paperwork, as well as helping locate the minors’ families as officials review the conditions for possible reunification.

Arturo Álvarez Escalera, delegate of the Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Children, Adolescents and the Family, said the immediate priority for minors who arrive in Quintana Roo after being deported from the United States is to offer temporary lodging, guidance through their procedures and help finding their relatives.

Minors From Several States and Countries

According to officials with the Integral Family Development System (DIF) in Benito Juárez, the minors currently in the center’s care include children and adolescents from the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Oaxaca. Cases have also been registered involving Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala and El Salvador, along with one family from Afghanistan.

A visit to the facility showed its doors remain largely closed, with access restricted to people who have been previously identified. High walls block views into the interior and prevent those inside from seeing out.

Álvarez Escalera said the CAS-NNAM provides temporary protection to both accompanied minors and those traveling without an adult, once they are referred by the competent authorities. The facility can take in up to 50 minors and can also accommodate family units that need temporary lodging.

The official explained that many minors arrive through Tulum’s “Felipe Carrillo Puerto” airport after being reported from the United States. Once in the state, they can enter the shelter while authorities try to contact their relatives and establish the conditions for reunification.

He noted that the process of locating families often moves quickly because, in many cases, relatives themselves contact the authorities to request a reunion with the minors.

The program was launched in response to a growing presence of migrants from South American countries. Authorities currently consider the migration flow to be at a medium level.

Care at the center goes beyond providing lodging, officials said, and includes support during the procedures faced by those seeking to reach their home states or countries of origin.