That so many of her compatriots flee their homeland for the United States is an indictment of Mexico, a Mexican journalist who has spent 13 years reporting on the travails of migrants north of the border says in her new book, "Mexicanos al grito de Trump" (Mexicans to the cry of Trump).

"The book tells 13 stories about how Mexicans create webs of solidarity and resistance to racist assaults," author Eileen Truax told EFE, pointing out that prejudice against Mexicans is not a new phenomenon.

"With Trump's triumph, many people asked themselves how Mexicans could defend themselves against the possible racist onslaught, but the question was badly posed, because racist attacks have been occurring for years," the Mexico City native said in an interview.

Discrimination and violence are the daily lot of immigrants in the US, she said, pointing to a 56 percent increase in the number of hate groups between 2000 and 2013, well before Trump took office.

The subjects of Truax's book include an attorney, a photographer and a police officer.
       Though outraged by the injustices Mexicans encounter in the US, the author, whose first book, "Dreamers: An Immigrant Generation's Fight for their American Dream," was published in 2015, saves some of her harshest criticism for authorities in her homeland.

"If there are Mexicans who leave the country because they receive threats, are seeking medical treatment abroad or are humiliated for their sexual orientation, it means that the state failed in its duty to protect citizens," Truax said.

She makes the same point in regard to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which originated as a project of the US government.

It was the Mexican government's obligation to safeguard the interests of Mexico, Truax said, and it was the Mexican government who signed a treaty that "has destroyed Mexico's rural economy."