PUSHED TOO FAR

Migrants Sew Mouths Shut in Protest at Mexico’s Southern Border

Around a dozen people took part in the extreme protest against their treatment at Mexico’s southern border.

A dozen people who are trying to cross Mexico’s southern border have sewed their mouths shut in protest against their refused entry. Shocking photos from the Reuters news agency show the group of migrants, who are mostly from Central and South America, using needles and plastic thread to sew their lips together. Activists at the protest said the migrants were taking action after they were blocked from entering Mexico on their journey to the United States. “I’m doing it for my daughter,” said Yorgelis Rivera, who traveled from Venezuela but has been stuck at the border for a month. “She has not eaten anything in the last few hours and I see no solution... from the authorities... We are like prisoners here.” Mexico’s migration agency said in a statement that “it is worrying that these measures have been carried out with the consent and support of those who call themselves their representatives, with the intention of pressuring authorities on an attention already provided.”