CAT/C/MEX/CO/7 (g) Investigate possible abuses and acts of violence that may be committed against persons held in migrant holding centres; (h) Guarantee that persons held in migrant holding centres are informed of their rights, including their right to seek asylum, in accordance with article 109 of the Migration Act; (i) Ensure that immigration officials and security personnel in migrant holding centres receive proper training; (j) Provide quality legal aid services to migrants and asylum seekers. Asylum and non-refoulement 50. The Committee takes note of the data provided by the delegation on the number of asylum applications received during the reporting period, which apparently increased from 912 (concerning 1,296 persons) in 2013 to 29,644 (concerning 59,916 persons) in 2018. According to these data, in 2018 the State party granted refugee status to 1,327 persons, and a further 654 received complementary protection. However, no data are available for the period 2014–2017 on the number of applications accepted because the applicants had been tortured or risked being subjected to torture in their country of origin. The Committee also takes note of the data provided by the delegation on the number of persons returned since 2013, a figure of 715,827 including both deportees and returnees, as well as the additional information provided on the available appeal mechanisms (judicial review, application for annulment, and amparo), although it does not state whether any appeals were lodged or their outcomes. The Committee remains concerned about reports of the detention of asylum seekers at airport border posts in inadequate conditions and without access to the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees, with the attendant risk of refoulement (art. 3). 51. The State party should: (a) Ensure that, in practice, no one may be expelled, returned or extradited to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would run a personal, foreseeable risk of being subjected to torture; (b) Guarantee that all persons in its territory or under its jurisdiction have effective access to the procedure for determining refugee status, including those held at airports and other border crossings; (c) Ensure that all asylum seekers have the opportunity to have their case examined individually and are protected from refoulement and collective return; (d) Ensure that procedural safeguards against refoulement are in place and that effective remedies with respect to refoulement claims in removal proceedings are available, including reviews of rejections by an independent judicial body, in particular on appeal; (e) Ensure the establishment of effective mechanisms to promptly identify victims of torture and trafficking among asylum seekers and migrants. Refoulement to Mexico under United States immigration and nationality law 52. The Committee is concerned about the situation of non-Mexican asylum seekers who are returned by the United States authorities to Mexico pending the completion of their immigration proceedings in the United States, pursuant to section 235 (b) (2) (c) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act. In this connection, the Committee notes with appreciation the State party’s decision to, inter alia, authorize, on humanitarian grounds and on a temporary basis, the entry of those persons and their stay in the national territory by granting them “leave to remain on humanitarian grounds”, with the right to multiple entries and departures. However, the Committee notes the lack of clarity regarding both the institution responsible for reception of returned persons and the guarantees of nonrefoulement to their countries of origin (art. 3). 53. The State party should ensure the adequate reception of persons returned to Mexico under United States immigration and nationality law, and guarantee that they GE.19-12617 15