The Mexican president lamented the death of more than 50 migrants in the state of Chiapas. | Photo: EFE

Mexico City, December 12 (RHC)-- Mexico is calling on the U.S. government to reform its immigration policy, after the death of 55 migrants in a tragic accident in the south of the country.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pointed out that these types of accidents and misfortunes must be used to address the migration crisis that the region is going through.

"The migratory problem is not solved with coercive measures, but rather there must be opportunities for work, for well-being.  People do not leave their towns for pleasure, they do it out of necessity," said the Mexican president in his daily conference.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said the recent tragedy illustrates why we ask no one to risk their lives with irregular migration.

The Mexican president recalled that he has insisted to his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, on the need to invest in social programs in Central America to prevent migration.  The Mexican head of state noted that in Washington the issue of changes in immigration policy is moving slowly, due to the discussion of budget items in the U.S. Congress.

The accident that left at least 55 migrants dead occurred on Thursday afternoon on a highway in the southern state of Chiapas, the main arrival point for irregular migrants to Mexico.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, together with his Guatemalan counterpart, Pedro Brolo, announced the creation of an international group to dismantle the network of traffickers behind the events.  Around 190,000 have been detected in Mexico between January and September, triple the number in 2020.

For its part, the United States recorded that 1.7 million people entered illegally from Mexico between October 2020 and last September, marking an all-time record.