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handle is hein.crs/govedlv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Mexico's Immigration Control Efforts

Updated May 28, 2021

Background
Since 2014, Mexico has experienced periodic surges in
unauthorized migration fromthe Northern Triangle of
Central America (EI 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. Under the threat of U.S.
tariffs, Mexican President Andrds Manuel Ldpez Obrador
accommodated Trump Administration policy changes that
shifted some of the burdenofinterdicting migrants and
hosting asylumseekers fromthe United States to Mexico.
The Biden Administration has also sought Mexico's
as sistance in managing U.S.-bound migration flows.
Figure 1. Mexico: Reported Apprehensions of
Migrants from Northern Triangle Countries and
Asylum Applications
Apprehensions from        Asylum Applications
N. Triangle Countries
18{K                     S0K
Notfrom
120K
60K
20K
2010         2020        2010          2020
*Apprehensions data through March 2021 excludes cases under review;
asylum applications data through April 2021. Asylum country of origin not
available before 2013 and all data are based on preliminary figures.
Source: CRS, based on information from Mexico's Secretary of the
Interior.
President Joe Biden has begun to revise certain restrictive
policies implemented by the Trump Administration butis
seeking to do so in a way that does not overwhelmthe
processing capacityofU.S. agencies. PresidentBiden also
proposed a comprehensive immigration reformbill,
introduced as the U.S. Citizenship Act(S. 348/H.R 1177),
which would create a regional migration management
systeminvolving Mexico and Central America. Vice
President Kamala Harris is leading diplomatic efforts to
secure Mexico's help in addressing the rootcauses of
migration, interdicting migrants, and combating alien
smuggling andhumantrafficking. In mid-March 2021,
Mexico closed its southemborders to nonessentialtravel.
Immigration Control
Since 2014, with support fromthe United States, Mexico
has establishednavalbases onits rivers, security cordons
north ofits borders with Guatemala and Belize, and drone
surveillance. Unarmed agents fromthe National Migration
Institute (INM) have increased operations along train routes
and at bus stations. INM has improved infrastructure at
border crossings and created mobile highway checkpoints.
INM also has sought to professionalize its workforce and

improve coordination with customs and federal, state, and
localsecurity forces.
LopezObradortookoffice in December2018, endorsing a
humanitarian approach to migration and pledging to
promote development in Central America as a solutionto
unauthorized migration. Nevertheless, he did not increase
funding for Mexico's backlogged Commis s ion for the Aid
of Refugees (COMAR). His government's austere budgets
have not reflected his early pledges to invest $100 million
in the Northern Triangle.
Since April2019, LopezObradorhas taken aharder line
toward migration, in part due to U.S. pressure. His
government has increased migrant apprehensions (see
Figure 2) and restricted access to humanitarian visas,
particularly for those traveling in large groups (or
caravans). As during prior enforcement surges, migrants
have taken more dangerous routes and increased their
reliance on smugglers. After Mexico deployed its new
National Guard to help with immigration enforcement,
reports ofmistreatment of migrants rose. Corruption within
INM and impunity for crimes against migrants have
increasedmigrants' vulnerability to humanrights abuses
and crime. A dozen state police havebeen implicated in a
January 2021 massacre of l9people, including Guatemalan
migrants, near the U.S. border.
Figure 2. Mexico: Recent Trends in Reported
Apprehensions of Central American Migrants
Apprehensions
U.S -Mexico
Migration Agreement
10K
jg   I E 1 m..us..!... sm .&.au
M M: J S N J M M I S N J M
March     2020              2021
2019
*Data excludes cases under review.
Source: CRS, based on datafrom Mexico's Secretary of the Interior.
Humanitarian Protection
Mexico has a broader definition of refugee than the United
States and the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention; Mexico
recognizes a right to asylumbased ongeneralized
violence; foreign aggression; internalconflicts; massive
violations ofhuman rights; and other circumstances leading

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