ADRA Mexico, Chiapas Government Open Humanitarian Center to Serve Migrants
Government officials and ADRA Mexico leaders gather at the entrance of the newly inaugurated humanitarian center in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, on Jan. 16, 2026. The center will provide health and support services for migrants and vulnerable residents.
[Photo: ADRA Mexico]
March 16, 2026 | Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico | Uriel Castellanos and Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News
A new humanitarian assistance center serving migrants and vulnerable residents in southern Mexico was inaugurated recently in Tapachula, Chiapas, through a partnership between the government of Chiapas and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Mexico.
The Centro Integral de Apoyo y Sustentabilidad para la Movilidad Humana (CIAS-MH), located in Tapachula’s Galaxias neighborhood, was established through a cooperation agreement with the state’s Southern Border Secretariat to strengthen services in one of Mexico’s main entry points for migrants.
The facility, inaugurated on January 16, provides medical care, nutrition counseling, psychological support, and legal guidance for migrants and vulnerable residents.
Officials from the Southern Border Secretariat formalize the installation of the Consultative Council for the Care of People in Situations of Human Mobility in the state of Chiapas, bringing together government and academic institutions to strengthen support for migrants. [Photo: ADRA Mexico]
“It is a center that integrates services for connection, regularization, and access to rights for people in situations of mobility,” Ponce explained. “It brings together the National Migration Institute, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance, United Nations agencies such as UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM, ADRA, and the administrative offices of the Secretariat of the Southern Border.”
Under the agreement, the government provides the physical space and facilitates referrals to other public services, while ADRA operates humanitarian programs including health services and community outreach.
Rubén Ponce (left), ADRA Inter-America director, speaks with Gustavo Guiveia (third from left), ACNUR official in Chiapas, and Luis Miguel Carvajal (right), property official, while Raúl Villafán (second from left), ADRA Mexico director, discusses the humanitarian situation along Mexico’s southern border in Chiapas. [Photo: ADRA Mexico]
Expanding Health Services
While the center offers a permanent base of operations, ADRA teams will continue conducting outreach in surrounding communities.
Ponce, who recently transitioned from ADRA Mexico country director to ADRA Inter-America director, said services at the center will be offered two days a week, while outreach teams continue serving surrounding communities.
ADRA Mexico and local church leaders tour the newly opened medical assistance center in Tapachula, Chiapas. [Photo: ADRA Mexico]
“For ADRA Mexico this represents a new opportunity,” Ponce said. “Although we no longer have support from several external donors, we see this as a call for church members and partners to become more actively involved—not only through prayer, but also through direct support for ADRA projects.”
He added that ADRA Mexico continues to collaborate with local and international partners, as well as with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other faith-based organizations.
Linneth Castellanos Torres, general physician for ADRA Mexico, stands inside the new medical office where she will provide care at the newly opened center in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. [Photo: ADRA Mexico}
ADRA Mexico has been serving migrants and vulnerable communities in Tapachula since 2021, working alongside UNICEF, church members, national donors, and international partners.
Through these efforts, ADRA teams have assisted more than 200,000 children, adolescents, and pregnant women, making the initiative one of the most significant humanitarian health programs in Mexico, ADRA Mexico officials said.
ADRA Mexico officials said the need for humanitarian services in the region continues to grow.
Federal, state, and municipal authorities and representatives from the Consulate of El Salvador pose in front of a mural depicting the journey and resilience of migrants arriving in southern Mexico at the Comprehensive Support and Sustainability Center on Jan. 16, 2026, in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. [Photo: ADRA Mexico]
Partnership Built on Trust
Ponce said the agreement between ADRA Mexico and the Southern Border Secretary grew out of years of humanitarian service in the region and the trust built through the agency’s work. The cooperation agreement will remain in effect for five years and reflects the continuing humanitarian mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
L-R: Liliana López Hernández ADRA Mexico legal coordinator; Dr. Amalia Toriello head of the Southern Border Secretary; and Erick Maldonado Hernández, ADRA Mexico local coordinator in Tapachula, stand together at the new center in Tapachula, Chiapas. [Photo: ADRA Mexico]
Local Adventist congregations will also support the initiative by mobilizing members and assisting ADRA teams as they continue serving migrants and vulnerable families in Tapachula, leaders said.
To learn more about ADRA Mexico’s initiatives and projects, visit adramexico.org