Asylum applications in Mexico have increased by nearly 4,000% since 2015, primarily from applicants from Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, as well as from South America, particularly Venezuela. During this time, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes due to various factors such as poverty, food insecurity, gang or gender-based violence, rights violations, and others. 23% of refugee claims in Mexico represent children and adolescents, nearly 2,000 of whom enter the country unaccompanied each year. For these young people, the opportunity to continue their studies can be life-changing, providing them with future prospects that have been lost due to displacement. Yet this is one of the most underfunded areas of humanitarian assistance, often seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. 

When young refugees have the possibility to pursue quality education and achieve their dreams, they can positively transform not only their own lives, but also those of their host and home communities by contributing to increased expertise, diversity, and awareness, which in turn leads to a more inclusive and resilient society.

While Mexico’s importance as a destination country for refugees has increased significantly in recent years, this phenomenon is not new. Mexico has been a host country for various migration flows for over 100 years, including returning migrants, providing a safe haven for political exiles, receiving migrants from around the world in response to various global crises, and serving as an area for transit situations that can last months or even years. 

Therefore, Mexican civil society is particularly well positioned to become a welcoming space for diversity, to respond to the urgent needs of those who find themselves in precarious situations, and to benefit from the increased integration and knowledge that each individual can bring. Through the Habesha Americas project, our team at DIME is leveraging these strengths already present in our country by building new mutually enriching networks for education and social cohesion, supporting the national and global goals of access to quality education for all, taking into account the individual context, equality, and inclusion of each person.