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Mexico receives 184 more Cuban migrants passing through on way to U.S.

Xinhua, February 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Mexico on Friday received 184 Cuban migrants headed to the United States, as an increasing number of Cubans travel through Central America to reach their northern neighbor.

The Cubans, including 66 minors, arrived at the southern State of Chiapas from Costa Rica, and were given a 20-day pass to journey northward to the United States.

Mexico's reception program organized by the National Migration Institute (INM) is in response to the increasing number of Cubans heading for the United States via Central American nations.

The program has become especially vital since last November when Nicaragua, a crucial link on the path north, decided to close it's borders to Cuban migrants, causing a large number of Cubans to be stuck in Costa Rica.

On humanitarian grounds, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala signed an agreement to assist the Cubans, providing them with transport to reach the United States.

The INM says 12,102 Cubans have benefitted from its aid program in 2015, and the organization says it will continue helping the migrants.

Thousands of Cubans are leaving their country to travel to the United States thanks to the Cuban Adjustment Act. This Act gives Cubans temporary residency in the United States and the right to work almost immediately upon arrival. Fears that this generous policy might end as the two countries move toward full normalization of their ties are driving the number of migrants up. Endi