Migrant March Begins in Southern Mexico Amid Anger Over Arrest of Activist Leader

A group of nearly 300 migrants, asylum seekers, and activists set out Wednesday from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, launching a march toward central Mexico to protest the country’s restrictive immigration policies.

But the start of the march was overshadowed by the arrest of one of its most visible leaders, Luis Garcia Villagran, a longtime immigration advocate known for organizing and speaking out on behalf of displaced people traveling through the region.

His arrest on Tuesday sparked immediate backlash from human rights organizations, who say the move was politically motivated and designed to intimidate both migrants and those defending them.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the arrest during her daily morning press briefing, saying Garcia Villagran was detained for alleged involvement in human trafficking. “That is the crime,” she told reporters. “He is not an activist.”

She added that there had been an outstanding arrest warrant against him for years, though did not explain why the arrest was carried out just hours before the protest march.

Rights groups pushed back fast. Pueblo Sin Fronteras, a nonprofit that works with migrants across the Americas, condemned the arrest. Its leader, Irineo Mujica, described it as an attack on freedom of expression and a blatant attempt to silence dissent.

Mujica himself was detained in 2019 on similar charges but later released. He says this latest move is a distraction tactic as Mexico faces growing criticism over how it handles migration, especially in the south.

The march comes at a time when the number of migrants heading to the US border has dropped significantly. Since Donald Trump returned to office in January, his administration has pushed forward with strict asylum restrictions that have slowed border crossings dramatically. In June, US authorities reported just over 9,000 encounters at the southern border — a 93 percent decrease compared to the same month last year.

Wednesday’s march, however, isn’t just about heading north. Organizers say the focus this time is on the slow and often dysfunctional process for obtaining asylum or legal immigration status in Mexico. Many migrants are now turning away from the US altogether, seeking protection or permanent residence further south, but are finding the process long and disheartening.

Protesters also called out Mexican policies that effectively keep migrants in the southern part of the country, away from the northern border. Those policies have been reinforced in recent years under pressure from Washington, which has repeatedly threatened Mexico with trade penalties if migration isn’t curbed.