Migrant Shelters Fill in Tijuana Amid Cartel Violence

In Tijuana, on Mexico's border with the United States, migrant shelters are filling up with families displaced by violence in western Mexico hoping to seek asylum in the neighboring country.

Thousands of Mexicans are fleeing their homes to seek asylum in the United States, fearing their children might be kidnapped by ultra-violent drug cartels to become hitmen or sex slaves.

Last year, nearly a third of migrants intercepted at the southern US border were Mexican -- around 740,000 -- more than from Venezuela, Guatemala or Honduras, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Crime is one of the main challenges awaiting Mexico's next president as the country prepares to hold elections on June 2.

Despite a growing economy, political stability and reduced poverty, outgoing left-wing populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has failed to stop a spiral of cartel-related violence.

Several years ago, shelters near the Mexican-US border were overwhelmed by a wave of migrants from Central and South America.

Today, around 70-85 percent of guests at the shelters are Mexican, managers of two centers said.

Some 40 million people of Mexican origin live in the United States, following a century of migration that was mostly motivated by the need to earn a living.

Since 2022, criminal violence has prompted another wave to seek to join them, according to Jose Maria Garcia, manager of the Juventud 2000 shelter.

Most are hoping to get asylum in the United States, he said, adding: "Many of them don't have anything to return to."

Kidnappings and homicides are daily occurrences in Mexico, where more than 450,000 people have been murdered since the government launched a military offensive against drug cartels in 2006.