Background:

Migrants are vulnerable people who are exposed to direct and structural violence. In the case of the latter, there is no identifiable aggressor; it can be politics and its laws, social norms, the economy, etc.

Objective:

To characterize the types of violence among migrants in transit through Mexico to the United States.

Material and methods:

Exploratory, cross-sectional, observational and prospective study. A questionnaire with 73 questions was used to survey 212 Latin American migrants of both sexes, over 16 years of age, who were at the "Garita del Chaparral" and five shelters in Tijuana.

Results:

It was found that 13.3% had an accident and 28.4% suffered aggressions. Direct violence corresponded to robbery, extortion or kidnapping; the most frequent aggressor was the police or migratory authorities, in 31.1%.

Conclusions:

42% of the migrants suffered accidents or injuries due to violence, the latter generated mainly by immigration agents or the police.

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