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1 1 (February 19, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcaam0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Mexico's Immigration Control Efforts Since 2014, Mexico, along with the United States, has experienced a surge in unauthorized migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). Mexico, like the United States, has struggled to deal with large numbers of families and unaccompanied minors, many of whom are seeking asylum. To avoid tariffs threatened by the Trump Administration, Mexican President Andr6s Manuel L6pez Obrador agreed in June 2019 to increase immigration enforcement and allow more migrants to await their U.S. immigration proceedings in Mexico. Figure I. Mexico: Reported Apprehensions of Migrants from Northern Triangle Countries and Asylum Applications Apprehensions from N. Triangle Countries 120K Asylum Applications OOK 60K Xmr4 .... ... 40K 4L ktk o ............... ............... - .................... , i 60KK 2007 O ... 2019 'AZ data throig 2019 ; aprhnin c ,bad apmx, 4,6R2 Lases under revew fro Apr.. .O.oe.. ..y...untry o. o..g.n .. avai2abie before 203_3 Source: CRS based on information from Mexico's Secretary of the Interior. During a September 20J19 meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Vice President Mike Pence recognized Mexico's efforts but said more work was needed to reduce unauthorized migration. The next day, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to implement a rule, pending a legal challenge, that bars those who have reached the southern border after passing through another country without seeking asylum there from requesting asylum in the United States. Because of that ruling and other changes in U.S. processing of migrants on the southwest border, Mexico is receiving record asylum requests (see Figure 1). (Fur mure infurmatiun, see CRS In Focus IF1 1363, Processing Aliens at the U5.-Mexico Border: Recent Policy Changes). In 2014, with support from the United States, Mexico implemented a Southern Border Plan that established naval bases on its rivers, security cordons north of its borders with Guatemala and Belize, and a drone surveillance program. Unarmed agents from the National Migration Institute (INM) increased operations along train routes and at bus stations, which led to more apprehensions. INM - mmm, go mppm qq\ , q I aS 11LULANJILiN, Updated February 19, 2020 improved infrastructure at border crossings and created mobile highway checkpoints. INM also sought to professionalize its workforce and improve coordination with Mexican federal police, military forces, and customs. The State Department's 2019 Trafficking in Persons report documents how migrants in Mexico are vulnerable to human rights abuses and human trafficking. Human rights groups argued that the Southern Border Plan pushed migrants to take more dangerous routes, which increased their reliance on smugglers. These groups criticized the Mexican government for not adequately addressing corruption among police and migration officials or prosecuting crimes against migrants. By 2018, increasing numbers of migrants began to travel in large groups (so- called caravans) to share resources and gain protection. President L6pez Obrador took office in December 2018, endorsing a humanitarian approach to migration and pledging to promote development in Central America as a solution to unauthorized migration. Nevertheless, L6pez Obrador did not increase funding for Mexico's backlogged Commission for the Aid of Refugees (COMAR). His government's austerity policies also could prevent him from fulfilling his pledge to invest $100 million in the Northern Triangle. Since April 2019, L6pez Obrador has taken a harder line toward migration, as he has faced pressure from the United States to reduce migrant flows and Mexico's detention facilities have grown overcrowded. His government has increased migrant apprehensions (see Figure 2) and restricted access to humanitarian visas, particularly for those traveling in caravans. Mexico has deployed its new National Guard to help with immigration enforcement. Apprehensions of migrants from Northern Triangle countries totaled roughly 154,400 in 2019, up from 138,600 in 2018 but below the 177,950 apprehended in 2015. Figure 2. Mexico: Recent Trends in Reported Apprehensions of Central American Migrants Apprehensions 1019 ... .. ... .11m.f ..... ..... . .. .. .. ..... S2o19 dt excid a arox m M4x32 c oses under Ieta tro h I eiOr. Source: CR5 based on data from Mexico's Secretary of the Interior. .O 'T

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