Desperate Cubans Are Trying To Get Fake Documents To Improve Their Lives In Mexico: 'Ghosts in a Legal Limbo'

Long waits to regularize immigration status and restrictions on movement out of southern Mexico have fueled a black market in Mexican birth certificates and residency cards for Cuban migrants stranded in Chiapas, according to reporting by Noticias Telemundo.

The state concentrates the largest share of Cuban regularization requests nationwide, and migrants say delays have left many unable to work legally or travel onward.

Óscar, a 30-year-old Cuban who spoke anonymously to Telemundo, said he witnessed the sale of fraudulent documents in Chiapas. "I know several people who pay and immediately get a process, a response, or their residency—money solves it," he said.

Óscar arrived in Tapachula in late 2024 and waited nearly a year for a temporary residency application based on family reunification without a decision. During that time, he said, he was twice detained when attempting to leave the state, which Mexican law restricts for migrants without papers.

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Chiapas accounted for 67% of Cuban regularization requests in Mexico from January to November 2025, with 1,049 of 1,575 applications nationwide, according to the National Migration Institute. Activist Luis Rey García Villagrán told Telemundo that while document fraud has existed for years, the market expanded after January 2025 as migrants sought "legal certainty" to avoid becoming "ghosts in a migratory limbo."

Two other Cuban migrants said alleged Mexican attorneys offered birth certificates and temporary or permanent residency cards for between 9,000 and 26,000 pesos ($500 to $1,500). In early January, Chiapas prosecutors arrested three civil registry officials for illegally issuing birth certificates to foreigners.

"They were issuing birth certificates to foreign nationals in collusion with people involved in migrant trafficking," state prosecutor José Luis Llaven said.

Context from southern Mexico underscores the pressures driving the trade. Reporting by Diario del Sur in November described small groups of migrants avoiding checkpoints after repeated caravan breakups, attempting to reach Mexico City or northern states independently.

Meanwhile, a separate case documented by CiberCuba highlights the risks: more than a year after about 40 migrants—mostly Cubans—disappeared along the Chiapas coast, families say they still lack clear answers about their fate.

Óscar said he ultimately reached Mexico City without using fake documents and must now restart his application. He called it unfair that others can pay to advance, but added he understands the desperation. "No Cuban wants to go back to Cuba," he said.

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