The Law on Refugees, Complementary Protection and Political Asylum incorporates the concept of “complementary protection”. A person who does not comply with the criteria defined by such law to be recognized as a refugee, can be granted complementary protection to prevent their return to a country where their life could be in danger. Beneficiaries of complementary protection have a documented stay in the country, freedom of movement, access to gainful employment, as well as basic social rights.

The Mexican Migration Law establishes that a “Visitor status under humanitarian grounds” can be granted to:

• Victims or witnesses of a crime in the Mexican territory
• Unaccompanied migrant girls, boys or adolescents
• Asylum seekers, refugees or beneficiaries of complementary protection.

The visitor status under humanitarian grounds can also be granted to foreigners who do not meet the above criteria, when there is a humanitarian or public interest that requires their entry or regularization in Mexico. This status entails access to gainful employment.

In 2019, Mexico began the regularization of migrants who entered Mexico in 2017, after they had been forcibly displaced from Laguna Larga, Guatemala. Permanent Residence Cards (TRP) for family reunification and Business Cards under Humanitarian Grounds (TVRH) were delivered.

In 2019, Mexico granted a one-year temporary stay to migrants entering its territory in the context of large movements. This permit allows migrants to transit through the Mexican territory and to obtain a Population Registration Code (CURP) for foreigners, which is a form of identification that facilitates access to employment and public services, including health and education.