‘I am trying to live’: Haitians in Mexico seek community despite broken immigration systems

Funding cuts, US political pressure and bureaucratic delays have left thousands of Haitians facing prolonged uncertainty in Tapachula

A year ago, when Jean Baptiste Gensley stepped off a bus in Tapachula, Mexico’s southern city on the border with Guatemala, he carried a small backpack and the hope that his journey was finally over.

In his native Haiti, Gensley, 37, worked as a radio journalist and social worker, analyzing the effects of gang violence in some of Port-au-Prince’s most dangerous neighborhoods. With time, as his research led to police intervention, he caught the attention of the city’s gangs.