Mexico City immigration sweeps lead to 44 detentions throughout May

INM steps up street checks in Mexico City

Mexico's National Migration Institute began conducting immigration enforcement operations across several Mexico City neighborhoods on May 1, with agents stopping people in public spaces to verify documents, according to a coalition of Mexican civil-society groups that issued an urgent communiqué May 5.

One operation in Polanco led to the detention of 29 foreign nationals and a separate action at a guesthouse produced 15 more detentions, Latin Times reported. Additional document checks have been reported in San Rafael, Guerrero and Cuauhtémoc. Detainees have been taken to the Las Agujas immigration station in Iztapalapa and some have been transferred to other states, NGOs said.

The operations enforce existing law rather than create new rules. Mexican authorities can hold foreigners who can't produce valid documents for up to 60 days while status is verified, per U.S. Embassy guidance.

Who gets stopped

The checks can reach almost any non-Mexican in the capital. Tourists on FMM permits, residents with temporary or permanent cards, digital nomads working from apartments in Polanco, Roma and Condesa and asylum seekers with pending cases have all been swept up or flagged as at risk.

NGOs said some people with pending asylum or regularization files were detained because they couldn't immediately show proof of their in-process status. The communiqué called on INM to stop detaining asylum seekers and people with active procedures and to guarantee access to legal and consular help.

What to carry and do

Carry the original passport plus the FMM or resident card at all times when moving around the city. Scans and phone photos help as backup but don't substitute for originals if agents press the point.

Those with pending COMAR or INM cases should keep appointment letters, receipts and any official acknowledgment of in-process status on them. Anyone who entered Mexico by land and traveled past the border zone is required to hold an FMM, even if border officials didn't explicitly issue one.

If detained, contact a consulate and local legal aid organizations quickly. NGOs flagged that transfers out of Mexico City have made it harder for detainees to reach lawyers and family.

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