Some undocumented migrants on Mexico's southern border sewed their mouths shut on Tuesday, February 15 in a bid to convince Mexico's immigration authority to grant them passage toward the U.S. border.
The migrants, mostly Central and South Americans, helped each other seal their lips using needles and plastic threads, leaving a small space to consume liquids and using alcohol to wipe away drops of blood from the stitches, photos show .
The migrants are sewing their lips together as a sign of protest," said Irineo Mujica, an activist at the demonstration. We hope that the National Migration Institute can see that they are bleeding, that they are human beings."
"I'm doing it for my daughter," said Yorgelis Rivera, a Venezuelan. "She has not eaten anything in the last few hours and I see no solution ... from the authorities."
"We are like prisoners here," Rivera said, adding she has been waiting for a response from Mexico's migration agency for more than a month.
In recent years, the number of migrants arriving in Mexico from other South American countries fleeing violence and poverty has increased . In 2021, Mexico recorded an 87% increase in the number of asylum applications, mainly from Haitians and Hondurans
