A Tijuana human rights group says the city's municipal police are unfairly targeting migrants recently deported from the United States. Human rights investigators allege police arrest migrants without cause to make it look like the authorities are cracking down on crime. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has details.
A team of investigators from Tijuana’s Bi-national Center for Human Rights have documented nearly 190 cases or migrants being arrested for no reason during the last eight months.
Alexis Romero who interviewed migrants says their stories are the same. Police detained them for not carrying identification, though Mexican law does not require people to carry ID. Police took migrants to a judge and the charges changed.
Romero : In some cases the judges would use the excuse that the person looked homeless, they were hanging out in front of places where drugs are dealt. So, they would use that as their excuse to give them some sort of jail time.
Victor Clark, who directs the human rights center, says police have told him they arrest migrants because officers have to meet a daily quota and migrants are easy targets. Municipal police and city officials could not be reached in time for broadcast.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
