The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Reported migrant expulsions from the US have left families with young children "distraught and disorientated" in overcrowded shelters in Mexico, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
The development followed border policy reforms recently introduced by the Biden Administration, which include the reported intention to expand the use of the COVID-19 pandemic-related "Title 42" public health order.
UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo described the humanitarian situation at the border as “serious”.
She noted that from 6 to 10 January, an estimated 531 Cubans and 141 Nicaraguans had been deported from the United States, under the “Title 42” public health order.
Shelters for the new arrivals are overcrowded and many have been forced to sleep in tents without adequate clothing, Ms. Mantoo said, adding that there was an urgent need for food, hygiene kits and documentation advice.
The development follows last week’s warning from UN human rights chief Volker Türk that the US reform would permit the “fast-track expulsion to Mexico” of 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans each month.
ends
STORY: US-Mexico border expulsions - UNHCR
TRT: 1’35”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 January 2023
HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Shabia Mantoo, UNHCR Spokesperson:
“According to information gathered by UNHCR-IOM in the field. We have seen that there have been some expulsions to Mexico under Title 42 already. So, I don't have the latest numbers, but I've got estimates. Between 6th and 7th of January they were approximately 531 Cubans and 141 Nicaraguans. But as I mentioned, this is just for that period.”
“So this is this is happening. And we know that the humanitarian situation at the border is serious. Families with young children are arriving distraught and disoriented, shelters are overcrowded, and many people are staying in outdoor tents with adequate clear clothing for lower temperatures overnight. So, we know that there are urgent needs for shelter, food assistance and shelter materials, mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and so on, as well as legal temporary documentation in Mexico.”
“UNHCR and partners are providing protection, counseling and orientation to people that have been expelled under Title 42 to Mexico on their options to access protection. However, the current needs exceed the existing capacity, but we're also working with shelters along Mexico's northern border to expand reception capacity with infrastructure and to be able to provide relief.”
- Medium shot of the speakers on the podium at press conference room.
- Cutaway medium lateral shot of journalists writing on their laptops.
- Closer shot of UN Staff members in the press conference room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher?
That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the ongoing violence in the occupied WestBank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk made the following remarks on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
UN Human Rights Council holds special session on Sudan as mass atrocities reported in El Fasher
The UN Human Rights Council convened an emergency session on Friday on the situation in and around El Fasher, Sudan, following reports of mass killings in the North Darfur capital. States passed a resolution that will mandate an investigation into likely mass atrocities during the capture of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 26 October.
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).