About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 1 (March 25, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecus0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 







     nsCongressional
            *  Research Service





Mexico: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers

in   2021



Updated March 25, 2021
Mexico, atop U.S. trade partner and neighbor, could play a key role in addressing several challenges
facing U.S. policymakers in 2021. During a virtual meeting on March 1, President Andres Manuel L6pez
Obrador and President Biden committed to collaborate on bilateral and regional migration issues and on
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) response and recovery, while reaffirming the importance of
security cooperation. High-level officials from both countries held migration talks on March 23 focused
on addressing root causes of migration and determining steps Mexico could take to interdict some U.S. -
bound migrant flows. President Biden also is asking Mexico to accept migrant families expelled under
current pandemic-related restrictions on asylum processing.

Migration
The Trump  Administration's approach to Mexico de-emphasized human rights and corruption concerns in
favor of a narrow focus on migration control. Under the threat of U.S. tariffs, the L6pez Obrador
administration accommodated U.S. border and asylum policy changes that shifted the burden of
interdicting migrants and hosting asylum seekers from the United States to Mexico. Many human rights
advocates expressed serious concerns about U.S. policies, however, and Mexico had limited resources for
deterring and hosting primarily Central American migrants.
President Biden has announced executive actions on immigration, many of which revise restrictive
policies implemented by the Trump Administration. President Biden also proposed a comprehensive
immigration reform bill, introduced as the U.S. Citizenship Act (S. 348/H.R. 1177). As the top country of
origin for unauthorized immigrants in the United States, Mexico-which received $40 billion in
remittances in 2020, could benefit from pathways to legal status included in that and other bills. The
Biden Administration has asked Mexico for assistance with securing its borders, as a surge in migrants
from Central America is overwhelming U.S. agencies' processing capacity at the Southwest Border.
Until pandemic-related restrictions, Mexico has received non-Mexican adults expelled by U.S. officials.
Mexico has not accepted non-Mexican unaccompanied children and families at some ports of entry due to
a reform of its immigration law that took effect in January. The reform bars Mexico from detaining
children, accompanied or unaccompanied, in immigration detention facilities, requiring them instead to
go to children's shelters. Amid a deep recession and budget austerity, Mexico has limited capacity to
                                                                 Congressional Research Service
                                                                 https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                      IN11635

CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Membersand
Committeesof Congress

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.

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most