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Photograph of a State Police van in front of the facilities of the weekly Zeta, on Monday, April 10, 2017, in Tijuana, Mexico. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) today requested the Baja California state government to implement protective measures for officers, employees and facilities of the weekly magazine Zeta in the face of alleged threats from organized crime. EFE / Joebeth Terriquez
Photograph of a State Police van in front of the facilities of the weekly Zeta, on Monday, April 10, 2017, in Tijuana, Mexico. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) today requested the Baja California state government to implement protective…

Mexican journalist seeking asylum in the US held for more than two months

Lawyer of reporter Martín Méndez says his detention reflects new Trump's policy is targeting all Mexicans.

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On February 5, Mexican journalist Martín Méndez Pineda, 26, crossed into the United States, requesting asylum after he received death threats while working at the Novedades de Acapulco newspaper. He presented all the necessary documents, following procedure to the letter of the law, providing proof that his life was in danger.

More than two months later, Méndez Pineda is being held in detention in El Paso, Texas, fearful that he may be deported back to Mexico at any time, as reported in El País.

What would normally happen after that is that an asylum seeker in the United States would be released by a special court. But US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) believes Méndez, who was going to stay with a relative who holds a US passport, is a flight risk.

“This is criminalizing asylum: he has been denied the right to post bond for no reason. This has to be seen as a political attack on the Mexican community living on the border,” says Méndez’s lawyer, Carlos Spector, blaming the tough immigration policies introduced by Donald Trump since he took office in January. “It doesn’t matter whether you are an asylum seeker or an immigrant with no papers, this is a shift toward a police state,” says Spector.

As reported in El País.

 

 

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