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1 1 (December 4, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/governb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Mexico's Migration Control Efforts Backround In FY2022 and FY2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported record numbers of migrant encounters on the Southwest border, raising congressional concerns. In June 2024, a new U.S. policy limiting access to asylum, combined with Mexican enforcement efforts, contributed to a decline in encounters. In FY2024, encounters totaled 2.1 million, down from 2.5 million the year before. Mexican nationals comprised roughly 35% of CBP encounters in FY2024. Former Mexican President Andr6s Manuel L6pez Obrador (2018-2024) worked with the Trump and Biden Administrations on migration management. President Claudia Sheinbaum reportedly is developing plans to respond to changes in U.S. policies that President-elect Trump has pledged to make. Increases in U.S.-bound migration through Mexico arguably revealed gaps in Mexican government capacity to manage migration and placed migrants at greater risk of harm. Historically, migrants entering Mexico emigrated mostly from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of migrants entering Mexico from regions beyond Central America has increased. In 2023 and through August 2024, Mexican authorities apprehended more migrants from South America (primarily from Venezuela) than from Central America (see Figure 1). Figure I. Reported Apprehensions of Migrants by Mexican Authorities by Region of Origin (CY2020- August 2024) A ERCA 2020202 202 202 Aug. 2024 Source: Graph by CRS, based on information from Mexico's Secretary of the Interior. MexCO's Immgration Contro PoicieS Since 2014, with financial and technical support from the United States, Mexico has established naval bases on its rivers, security cordons north of its borders with Guatemala and Belize, and drone surveillance in border regions. Unarmed agents from Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) have increased migrant interdiction Updated December 4, 2024 operations along train routes and at bus stations, improved infrastructure at border crossings, and set up mobile highway checkpoints. The agency conducts biometric screening of migrants at detention centers using equipment supplied by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). INM also has sought to professionalize its workforce and to improve coordination with federal, state, and local security forces. Despite reform efforts, corruption and weak observance of migrant protections by some INM personnel have led to abuse of migrants. In March 2023, 39 migrants died when INM officials did not unlock a detention center after a fire broke out. Former President L6pez Obrador took office pledging to adopt a humanitarian approach to migration and to promote development in Central America as a solution to unauthorized migration. His government's record in these areas was mixed. For example, Mexico's Commission for the Aid of Refugees (COMAR) increased its capacity to process migrants by over 500% since 2017 with support from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At the same time, analysts found limited impacts of Mexico's part of Sembrando Oportunidades (Sowing Opportunities), a U.S.-Mexico program to address the root causes of irregular migration from the Northern Triangle. From 2019 through the end of his term, L6pez Obrador took a harder line than his predecessors toward migration, in part due to pressure from both the Trump and Biden Administrations. His government increased migrant apprehensions and restricted access to humanitarian visas, particularly for those traveling in large groups. As during prior enforcement surges, migrants have taken more dangerous routes and increased their reliance on smugglers. After Mexico deployed its National Guard (formed in 2019) for migration enforcement, reports by human rights groups of mistreatment of migrants rose. Since 2021, Mexico reportedly has sought to keep asylum seekers in southern Mexico despite dangerous conditions there, often busing migrants from northern to southern Mexico. The Mexican government also created visa requirements for those from countries such as Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Since taking office in October, President Sheinbaum has continued to implement her predecessor's enforcement policies. Humantrian Po Mexico has a broader definition of refugee than the United States and the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention; Mexico recognizes a right to asylum based on generalized violence; foreign aggression; internal conflicts; massive violations of human rights; and other circumstances leading to a serious disturbance of public order.

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