About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (June 26, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/goveaup0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SIori the ei atie C rne 1914 Mexico's Immigration Control Efforts Updated June 26, 2019 Background Mexico, along with the United States, is experiencing a surge in unauthorized migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). Officials in Mexico and the United States are struggling to deal with high numbers of family units and unaccompanied minors, many of whom are seeking asylum. As the Trump Administration has tightened migrant access to the asylum system, Mexico has absorbed increasing numbers of Central Americans and others in need of humanitarian protection (see Figure 1). To avoid U.S. tariffs, the Mexican government agreed on June 7, 2019, to remove (deport) more migrants and allow more asylum seekers to await their U.S. asylum proceedings in Mexico (See CRS Insight IN 11130, President Trump 's Possible Tariffs on Mexican Goods: Potential Economic Effects). Figure I. Mexico: Reported Apprehensions of Migrants from Northern Triangle Countries and Asylum Applications Apprehensions from Asylum Applications N. Triangle Countries 1s0K _ _ _ _ 60K 120K 40 i60K 20K OK2007 2019* 2007 2019* *Apprehensions through April 2019, with 1,061 April cases under review that were not included; Asylum applications through May 2019. Asylum country of origin not available before 2013. Source: CRS. Information from Mexico's Secretary of the Interior. Immigration Control In 2014, then-President Enrique Pena Nieto implemented a Southern Border Plan that established naval bases on Mexico's rivers, security cordons north of the country's borders with Guatemala and Belize, and a drone surveillance program. Unarmed agents from the National Migration Institute (INM), the only Mexican agency with authority to detain migrants, increased operations along train routes and at bus stations. INM improved the infrastructure at border crossings and created mobile highway checkpoints. With U.S. support, INM sought to professionalize its workforce and improve coordination with Mexican federal police, navy, army, and customs agencies. The State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices and Trafficking in Persons report document how migrants in Mexico are vulnerable to human rights abuses and human trafficking. Human rights groups argued that Pena Nieto's Southern Border Plan pushed migrants to take more dangerous routes that increased their reliance on smugglers. These groups expressed concern that Mexico did not adequately address corruption among police and migration officials or increase its prosecutions for crimes against migrants. By 2018, increasing numbers of migrants began to travel in groups (caravans) as a way to share resources and gain protection. In December 2018, President Andres Manuel L6pez Obrador took office, promising to offer humanitarian assistance to Central American migrants in Mexico and protect their rights. L6pez Obrador announced a plan to invest $25 billion in southern Mexico that would create jobs for migrants. He has also pledged $30 million to support a U.N. regional development plan for Central America; Mexico and others have long maintained that the best way to stop illegal immigration from Central America is to address the insecurity and lack of opportunities there. At the same time, L6pez Obrador endorsed a principle of government austerity and did not increase funding for INM or for Mexico's backlogged Commission for the Aid of Refugees (COMAR). Under pressure from the United States to reduce unauthorized migration and with its detention facilities at well over capacity, the Mexican government suspended provision of one-year humanitarian visas in southern Mexico as of February 2019. Mexico's apprehensions of migrants from Northern Triangle countries also have increased (see Figure 2). Similarly, although many Mexicans provided support to migrant caravans in 2018, a majority of Mexicans polled in 2019 oppose Central American migration. Figure 2. Mexico: Recent Trends in Reported Apprehensions of Central American Migrants Apprehensions Ltpez Obrador 20K Adminstration 10K Honduras J F M A M J J A S 0 ND J F MA* 2C1 2019 *1,061 April cases were still under review and not included. Source: CRS. Data from Mexico's Secretary of the Interior. Humanitarian Protection The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international organizations report that half of all children and a sizable proportion of women fleeing the Northern Triangle may need international assistance and protection, even if they do not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Mexico has a broader definition of refugee than the United States and the 1951 Refugee ttps://crsreports.congress.gov

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most