You and your family may have to return to Mexico, either voluntarily or due to deportation. If you face this possibility, you should plan ahead to make the process as simple and safe as possible for you and your family.
Breathe. Know that your family and community are holding you in their thoughts and prayers and it is your own inner strength that will get you through this difficult transition. Take good care.
Before you leave the U.S.
1.Contact the Mexican Consulate
- If you are able, contact or go to the nearest Mexican consulate to obtain a Mexican passport, birth certificate, and/or other important citizenship documents prior to deportation.
- To set up an appointment, call MEXITEL 1-877-639-4835 or schedule online at Citas SRE: https://citas.sre.gob.mx/
- To find your closest consulate address and number, check: https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/
- For a list of services, check: https://www.gob.mx/
2. Legal & Identity Documents
- CURP: Mexican citizens should locate their CURP (unique ID code). Check or obtain it online at the CURP Portal: https://www.gob.mx/curp/
- Power of Attorney: Sign and give one to someone you trust in the U.S. to handle finances and legal matters while you’re gone.
- Immigration paperwork: Consult an immigration expert before signing any document from U.S. immigration authorities.
3. Financial & Housing Preparations
- Take care of your finances. Sell or transfer your real estate. Use banks to transfer funds from the U.S. to Mexico.
- Make arrangements for where you will live in Mexico. Let your representative know how you can be contacted there.
4. Family Preparations
- Complete a family preparedness plan: https://www.ilrc.org/community-resources/family-preparedness-plan
- Share it with your Power of Attorney.
- Keep all documents safe.
Children & Dual Citizenship
- Apply for passports for yourself and any Mexican-born children.
- Apply for proof of dual citizenship for children of Mexican parents.
- Note: Minors with U.S. citizenship traveling to Mexico must have:
- A valid U.S. passport
- A notarized consent form from the other parent/guardian
- Dual citizenship can also be applied for in Mexico, but it is often more costly and time-consuming.
Traveling separately from your children?
- Sign an authorization letter for the caregiver traveling with your child.
- If your child stays in the U.S., sign a Power of Attorney authorizing the caregiver to provide care.
5. Collect Additional Documents
Bring originals and multiple copies of:
- School records/diplomas (notarized by registrar)
- Immunization records & U.S. birth certificates (must include apostille from the Secretary of State where the child was born)
- Medical records & medications
- Marriage, divorce, and/or death certificates
6. What to Bring With You
- Phone numbers of family/friends in Mexico & the U.S. (memorize them)
- Phone card, charger, and backup battery
- An address in Mexico (needed for forms and job applications—use a family member’s if needed)
- Medications and written prescriptions. Diabetics may also bring nutrition items, like an energy bar.
- Mexican ID (driver’s license or voting card)
7. Tips & Warnings
- TIP: The Mexican government requires two last names (father’s last name and mother’s last name) on all official documents.
- TIP: You can apply for dual citizenship in Mexico, but the process is more complicated, expensive, and takes longer.
- TIP: Get more than one original birth certificate for each child. You may need to leave one with the Registro Civil and may need additional copies later.
- WARNING: Keep in mind, buying fake Mexican birth certificates can jeopardize your child’s dual citizenship.
- REMINDER: Avoid notarios!
- REMINDER: An apostille is required for U.S. birth certificates. Request it from the Secretary of State in the state of birth.
- REMINDER: During deportation, you may experience dehumanizing behavior from ICE officials. Your possessions may not be intact or returned to you at all. If you can remember officials’ names or get their badge numbers, it could be helpful in the future or for others.
Arriving in Mexico
1.General cautions
- To stay safe, make a friend on the bus or plane. Stay together to support each other.
- Be alert and calm. Blend in and comply with authority.
- Avoid casual street encounters, including eye contact. Don’t look vulnerable, but also don’t look overconfident.
- Be prepared for bribes. Have $40 to $100 in cash in $10 and $20 bills. Keep them in different pockets.
- Keep contact information for your family in Mexico (and all documents that prove your identity and deportation status) on you, not in your bag.
- Don’t use an offered cell phone to call your family. If you come across a trusted organization or a public institution, you can ask to make a phone call. If you have a cell phone, share your location with people you trust. Update your family as you travel and use agreed-upon signals in case of danger.
- There have been cases of scams, extortion, and kidnapping, and you should do everything possible to be safe. Create a code word with your family to confirm your identity over the phone, or to verify that a request for money is indeed coming from you.
- Avoid sharing information with strangers about yourself, your family, your route, and your destination. Do not accept offers of help in exchange for money. Trustworthy organizations will not charge you for services like legal assistance, shelter, or food.
- Identify safe routes. Consult maps for migrants and support networks to find the least risky routes of travel. Avoid traveling alone.
- Never leave your children with strangers. Unfortunately, child trafficking networks do exist in Mexico. Ensure your children are always with someone you trust.
- If you need to take a taxi, find the location of a formal taxi service.
2. Know your rights
- All people, regardless of country of origin, have the right to ask for information from authorities in Mexico. This includes information about where you are, the programs and support available to you, and how to access health care.
- You have the right to be free from discrimination or violence based on your country of origin, skin color, language, and gender.
- If you are the victim of a crime in Mexico, you have the right to report it to authorities.
- Agents and police should not touch you, detain you without cause, ask for money, or threaten you.
- You can refuse a search of yourself or your belongings if authorities do not have a warrant.
3. As a Mexican citizen
- You have rights and access to resources in Mexico as a Mexican citizen. There are programs for people who return. However, accessing these government services requires certain documents and a lot of patience.
- Mexican government services are not always available as advertised. The nonprofit and faith-based organizations listed in this resource may help you access available government services or refer you to other services.
- Programa de Repatriación are services that can be found at many ports of entry. They may include food and water, shelter, medical and psychological attention, information, transportation, reentry registration, and CURP.
- Documents you may need to access these services include:
- Your deportation order
- Constancia de Repatriación, which you get at the National Institute of Migration (INM) offices at the port of entry
- Identity documents: CURP and INE (Voter ID from the Instituto Nacional Electoral). Get them in Mexico, if you do not already have them.
- If you or your kids have dual citizenship:
- Original long-form U.S. birth certificate (for U.S.-born citizens)
- Naturalization documents (for U.S. naturalized citizens) (Note: you may need to get an apostille for these documents.)
- Receiving money in Mexico:
- TELECOMM will accept the Constancia de Repatriación as an identity document ONE TIME, and will pay you the full amount of money that was sent to you.
- Some banks also allow you to open an account online and transfer money from one bank to another for free.
4. Getting Mexican IDs
- To obtain a valid ID, you need a birth certificate. If you didn’t get it before you left the U.S., you can get a CURP ID online (https://www.gob.mx/segob/acciones-y-programas/clave-unica-de-registro-de-poblacion-curp) or with assistance at an organization that provides repatriation services. The CURP is a unique identifier or key (“clave” in Spanish) like a Social Security Number.
- Like in the U.S., people need different IDs for different services. To apply for programs, housing, and jobs, you will need:
- INE (official voting ID)
- CURP
- Constancia de Repatriación
- Passport
- Proof of Residence, and/or children's birth certificates.
**Important: Keep all your documents, including those issued by ICE upon leaving U.S. or arriving in Mexico. Those are often used to determine eligibility for different programs and assistance in Mexico.**
Resources
TIJUANA
Places to stay
Espacio Migrante
(52) 66- 4570- 5709
Av. Negrete 8350, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana, 22010 Tijuana, B.C.
Casa del migrante
(52) 66- 4682- 5180
C. Galileo 239, Buena Vista, Col. Postal, 22416 Tijuana, B.C.
Legal & Health Services
Centro 32
(52) 66- 4899- 0823
Av. Evaristo Molina 102, Buena Vista, Burocrata Ruiz Cortinez, 22406 Tijuana, B.C., México.
TAPACHULA
Legal & Health Services
Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova A.C.
(52) 96- 2642- 5098
30830, 4 Avenida Sur 8, Centro, 30700 Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, Chis., México
Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados (SJR)
(52) 96- 2625- 6961
3 avenida norte no. 5 entre central y, Primera Calle Ote., Centro, Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, Chis., México
CANALIZACIÓN Y REFERENCIA DE CASOS CON ESPECIALIZACIÓN EN INFANCIAS
Iniciativas para el Desarrollo Humano, A.C. (IDEHU)
(52) 96- 2189- 1840
Décima Avenida Sur #46, entre Sexta y Octava Poniente, Colonia Centro, Tapachula, Chiapas.
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS
Legal & Health Services
Formación y Capacitación A.C. (FOCA)
(52) 96- 7131- 1258
Avenida El Faisán #11, Colonia del Valle, San Cristóbal de las Casas
Cáritas de San Cristóbal de las Casas, AC
(52) 96- 7678- 6479
Prolongación Benito Juárez 8, 29296 San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas
TUXTLA
Places to stay
Formación y Capacitación A.C (FOCA)
(52) 96- 1176- 5689
18 Avenida sur oriente #675, Barrio San Francisco, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México, C.P. 29000, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Casa del Migrante "Jesús Esperanza en el Camino"
(52) 96- 1600- 0402
Av. 16a sur pte entre Calle Primera Pte. Sur, San Francisco, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México, C.P. 29066, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Servicio Pastoral a Migrantes San Martín de Porres
(52) 96- 7130- 9465
Calle Cuarta Pte. Nte. 366, Guadalupe, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México, C.P. 29000, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Legal & Health Services
Cáritas de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, AC
3a Sur y 4a Oriente Nº 90, Anexo al Templo de San Roque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, 29000
Food, Bathroom Facilities, & WiFi
Casa de día "Papa Francisco" (SJR)
(52) 96- 1341- 1784
(52) 96- 1101- 9878
Capilla de San Antonio de Pádua, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas