SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Baja California’s state commission on missing persons says 30 migrants were reported missing in 2023 in the San Diego-Tijuana and remain unaccounted for. But immigration officials and migrant advocates say the number is likely much higher considering the number of migrants who transit through the region on their way to the United States.
“There have been many people found who have yet to be identified along roads in and around Tecate and Tijuana,” said David Pérez Tejada, director of Mexico’s National Institute of Migration in Baja California. “And there have been many bodies found in graves throughout the desert whose identities remain unknown.”
Pérez Tejada stated that while the identities of the people found are not known, they are not considered missing.
Migrant advocates also insist the number of missing migrants is too low.
“Thirty is the official count, but I believe it is much higher than that,” said José María García Lara, director of the Juventud 2000 migrant shelter in Tijuana. “The government only counts those people reported missing.”
García Lara said a big problem when trying to find missing migrants, is that often, many arrive in shelters and refuse to provide their names so no one will ever know if anyone is looking for them.
He said there have been cases where families post pictures of missing loved ones in shelters but had not reported them missing to authorities.
“We had a case where a picture looked very much like a young man selling corn near our facility. When we asked him if that was him in the picture, he said yes and then notified his family,” said García Lara. “Many times, families take it upon themselves to find someone on their own, thinking the police will never help.”
Pérez Tejada added that many missing migrants are also likely in the United States already but have failed to notify their families for whatever reason.
“Sometimes people just don’t want to be found.”
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