Mexican authorities arrest outspoken activist ahead of a planned migrant
caravan
[August 06, 2025]
By EDGAR H. CLEMENTE and MARÍA VERZA
TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Authorities arrested an outspoken activist and
immigration advocate in southern Mexico on Tuesday, a day before a group
of migrants was planning to march to the country's capital to protest
their treatment.
According to a federal official, Luis García Villagrán was arrested in
Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas, for alleged crimes related to his
work with migrants. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
García Villagran's relatives who were waiting outside the Attorney
General offices in the southern city of Tapachula, near the border with
Guatemala, declined to comment.
The activist-lawyer has accompanied many caravans over the years that
formed in Tapachula, demanding safe passage to the U.S. border or
speedier processing of asylum applications in Mexico.
The caravan planned for Wednesday had the more limited goal of reaching
Mexico City, where there are more opportunities for work, since U.S.
President Donald Trump’s administration has effectively shut off the
possibility of requesting asylum at the U.S. border.
In recent years, the Mexican government has worked to contain migrants
in southern Mexico — far from the border with the United States. At
times, this strategy has swollen migrant numbers in Tapachula until
hundreds set out walking in protest. Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest state
and migrants complain there is little work or available housing.
Last year, some migrants accused García Villagran of extortion and state
prosecutors opened an investigation. The Chiapas state prosecutor's
office has not said where that case stands.
Mexican authorities have arrested immigration activists in the past.
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Luis Garcia Villagran, coordinator of the Center for Human
Dignification A.C., holds a a multiple migratory form while talking
to a group of migrants who are sheltering in a sports complex in
Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte,
File)
In 2018, activist Irineo Mújica was arrested as he led a protest in
Ciudad Hidalgo, a city at the Guatemala-Mexico border. He heads the
organization Pueblo sin Fronteras, or People without Borders, and
was accused at the time of property damage and resisting arrest.
On Tuesday, Mújica condemned García Villagrán's arrest in a video
released on his social platforms and accused the Mexican government
of criminalizing immigration and those who advocate for migrants'
rights.
Mújica was arrested again in 2019 with another activist as the
Mexican government negotiated with the first Trump administration to
avoid threatened tariffs. They were released days later due to lack
of evidence.
Cuban migrant Jesús Pérez said on Tuesday the arrest of García
Villagran was meant to keep them from leaving Tapachula, “but we're
going to leave.”
In recent days, he said, immigration agents and National Guard
troops had been carrying out operations in places where migrants
gather, calling it an attempt to intimidate them.
___
Verza reported from Mexico City.
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