MONTERREY, Mexico — A campaign by Mexican governors, under pressure by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, to stem the flow of migrants from Central America and beyond to Texas has led to a surge of complaints of abuse by state authorities, including violent attacks, extortion and even forcing migrants to disembark from private buses and continue their journey on foot for miles in temperatures that top 100 degrees.
The allegations of abuse are particularly directed against authorities in the neighboring state of Coahuila, where Gov. Miguel Riquelme and his administration has long led a harsh crackdown against migrants, including targeting migrants on the streets and at hotels of Ciudad Acuña and Piedras Negras, both cities across from Del Rio and Eagle Pass on the Texas border.
But in recent weeks, immigrant rights groups say, the actions of state and local authorities have hit a new low as they sharpened the clampdown against vulnerable migrants.
