MEXICO CITY – The official responsible for the protection of Mexicans living abroad said there is a growing intolerance toward Mexican immigrants in the United States, especially in areas with a small foreign-born population.

“We’re seeing a growing criminalization of undocumented migrants and a hostile environment toward the immigrant, both the undocumented migrant and those who are in that country legally,” foreign ministry official Daniel Hernandez told a press conference on Friday.

The most hostile areas for Mexicans, according to Hernandez, are Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina, places where immigration is relatively new.

“We’re especially seeing this new phenomenon in the south ... there are fewer Mexicans and a smaller consular presence and that makes criminalization tougher,” he said, without providing concrete examples.

He said, however, that there has been no increase in the number of cases of Mexicans seeking protection from discrimination.

In 2008, Mexican consular officials in the United States handled 118,000 cases related to human rights violations, people facing criminal charges and immigration, labor, civil and administrative matters, while there have been 64,000 such cases thus far this year.

Hernandez, meanwhile, said a total of 246 immigrants died during the first six months of 2009 while trying to cross into the United States illegally.

“There’s been a slight decrease in the number of cases compared with 2008,” he added, though he did not indicate by what percentage.

He also mentioned there were a total of 8,886 minors repatriated in the first half of this year, 85.5 percent of them boys.

An estimated 12 million Mexicans live in the United States, about half of whom are undocumented.