First, the overweight Federal Police officers sent to work with the National Immigration Institute (INM) were called fifí, or elitist by the institute’s chief.
Now they have been mocked with oversize uniforms whose pants are big enough to fit two people.
The officers went to work at the INM because they were too heavy to join the National Guard but their new uniforms are too big even for them.
One Federal Police officer who was sent to the INM for immigration enforcement in Tapachula, Chiapas, told Radio Formula that the new members were provided with low-quality uniforms made up of hat, t-shirts and pairs of 3XL pants, which he said can fit two or three people.
“It’s sad to see how the members of the institute step on us and humiliate us in this way,” he said. “What kind of image are we going to present to citizens if we’re dressed like this?”
The officer noted that the uniforms given to the Federal Police officers are not the same as those used by regular INM officers.
Photos posted by the officers on social media show them using cords to stop the pants from falling down — they don’t have belt loops. Other photos indicate that the pants can indeed fit two people inside.
The police have already complained about working conditions. In response, INM director Francisco Garduño called the federal cops “fifís” (elitist) and said they were complaining because they are accustomed to staying at hotels and eating at buffets, although he later apologized.
On Thursday, Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo acknowledged that the officers are working in substandard conditions and that working conditions in the INM as well as for all security forces need to be improved.
“We can’t, as citizens, or as the government, be so demanding of them, when historically we haven’t concerned ourselves with guaranteeing them a dignified life,” he said. “Peace and security can only be the fruit of justice, and that justice needs to start with the improvement of the conditions of those Mexicans who are willing to give their lives, if necessary, to protect the public.”
