Tapachula: Once a transit hub, now a dead-end border town

The migrants are unable to continue traveling north, and face a desperate situation due to the complex bureaucratic procedures required to legalize their status. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have significantly increased medical consultations and mental health care to respond to the needs.

Tapachula: From point of transit to city of waiting

The Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies, on top of bilateral agreements and regional pressure to curb migration, have transformed Mexico into a country of containment. For years Tapachula had functioned primarily as a transit point for people traveling north to seek refuge in the United States. Now it has inadvertently become home to thousands of migrants who became stranded when the Trump administration sealed the southern border with Mexico and suspended the main programs for requesting asylum in the US early this year.

In Tapachula, migrants face lengthy bureaucratic processes to obtain documents that allow them to move legally throughout Mexico. Meanwhile, they cannot work formally or access basic services, such as accommodations and medical care. 

“The lack of infrastructure, employment, and services in Tapachula exacerbates the situation for people seeking safety,” says Lucía Samayoa, MSF coordinator in southern Mexico. “The city is not prepared to receive thousands of people for a prolonged period, which generates extreme vulnerability leading many to live in overcrowded and informal shelters, sometimes in the open air.”

Caravans are forming again as a collective response to desperation

As a result of the poor conditions in Tapachula, migrant caravans have formed again in recent weeks after more than half a year without any mass movements reported. The first caravan departed on August 8 followed by two others on October 1 and October 17. These caravans traveled hundreds of kilometers over several days, but failed to reach their goal destination of Mexico City.

Migrant caravans consist of hundreds of people walking on foot together for safety and support, reducing the risks of traveling alone, such as abuse, extortion, and violence. This form of collective mobility among migrants has resurfaced as a strategy to gain visibility and increase pressure on authorities as they face the impossibility of moving along regular migration routes. 

"In Tapachula, employment opportunities are very limited, and almost any job requires a residence permit—a document I have not yet been able to obtain due to delays in the process," explains Ricardo Nilo, a Cuban who was assisted by MSF while his caravan passed through Escuintla, Chiapas state, located 45 miles north of Tapachula. Another Cuban, Grisel Hernández, adds, "There is no way to regularize my situation. There are no jobs, and the only work they offer to women is in bars, which doesn't allow me to support my son with dignity."

Migrants also report irregular ticket sales and discrimination at bus stations. "When I tried to buy a bus ticket, they denied it to me or offered it at exorbitant prices,” says Melissa Ruiz, who comes from Honduras. “Since there were other people in the same situation, we decided to support each other." 

A large but invisible migrant population

It is difficult to estimate how many migrants remain stranded in Tapachula, which has a population of over 350,000, according to the last census in 2020. Tapachula has been a hotspot for asylum applications within Mexico in recent years. According to the Commission for Refugee Assistance (‘COMAR’ in Spanish), of more than 52,000 asylum applications registered in Mexico in 2025, approximately 66 percent (around 34,320) were submitted in Chiapas state, with Tapachula as the main reception point.

According to the International Organization for Migration and MSF’s anecdotal observations, most people are from Haiti, Cuba, and Honduras, although Tapachula also hosts people of many other nationalities. When the city was a transit point, many people sought refuge in albergues—shelters often run by Christian organizations. Today, the services these organizations provided have been impacted by humanitarian aid cuts, and the shelters have low occupancy—less than a third of their prior capacity, on average. 

Instead of staying in the shelters, many migrants, who in some cases have been in the city for months, choose to rent rooms in peripheral neighborhoods with little access to basic services and where criminal organizations are present. This dispersion of sheltering areas is also a consequence of stigma and the fear of being detained or deported. It makes many people in the migrant community more invisible and makes it more difficult for humanitarian organizations to reach them.

International aid cuts are impacting important services

Due to the sweeping global funding cuts to international aid—including the dismantling of USAID and the sharp reduction of funding from many other major donor countries—many humanitarian organizations have reduced activities or closed programs in Tapachula this year. These cuts have impacted service areas such as protection, asylum applications, pediatrics, and care for victims of violence, including sexual violence.

MSF does not take US government funding, but we have closed projects in other parts of Mexico due to a decline in migration flows. However, we have maintained an active presence in Tapachula due to the needs. We have also made our response more flexible, using mobile clinics to reach remote areas where stranded migrants now congregate. Our teams also continue to provide care at fixed locations.

Between January and September 2025, MSF teams provided 11,483 medical consultations and 2,390 mental health consultations—an increase of more than 128 percent and 53 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2024. This significant increase reflects the deterioration of living conditions, continued violence, and the lack of access to timely medical care.

MSF provides primary health care to migrants living on the streets, in makeshift shelters, and in informal settlements. The main reasons people come for consultations include respiratory infections, gastrointestinal illnesses, physical injuries, untreated chronic illnesses, and cases of physical or sexual violence. Many patients arrive with advanced conditions or preventable complications after going weeks without medical care. Our teams also carry out health promotion activities, distribute relief items, and refer serious cases to public hospitals.

Mental health is an emergency

The psychological impact of migration is profound and often invisible. People face grief, family separation, violence, discrimination, and a sense of uncertainty. The long waits, lack of options, and hostile treatment aggravate mental health symptoms for many migrants.

Public mental health services are limited. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends between five and 10 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants; in Tapachula, however, there is only one Ministry of Health psychiatrist for the entire population. The wait for an appointment can exceed three months.

MSF teams provide individual and group psychological care and prioritize urgent cases such as suicide attempts, sexual violence, or severe symptoms affecting daily life and functions. “We see patients who have lost family members along the route, who have been victims of sexual abuse, or who live in constant fear,” explains Olga Lucía Uzcátegui, MSF mental health manager. “Many arrive with insomnia, panic attacks, and a deep sense of hopelessness.” 

The reactivation of the caravans, continued violence, and the lack of effective migration solutions demand a coordinated, sustained response centered on human dignity. “Tapachula reflects the forced pause in the lives of thousands of people and families,” says Samayoa. “Making visible the stories of those who remain in this limbo is fundamental. We urgently need responses that match the human suffering experienced on the southern border.”