In July, absolutely for the first time ever, Mexico reported “encountering” (apprehending, blocking, turning back, detaining) more migrants in its territory than U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP, which includes Border Patrol) reported encountering at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Citing a “restructuring process,” Mexico’s authorities say their reporting of September data will be delayed, but at least through August, the two countries’ migrant encounters remain nearly equal for the first time in history. And, of course, the U.S. figure includes Mexican citizens, and Mexico’s does not.
Much has been written about Mexico’s undeclared but vigorous policy of redirecting other nations’ migrants to the country’s south and cutting way back on humanitarian visas, even as detention and deportation have grown less frequent. It’s been called the “chutes and ladders” or “merry-go-round” policy, shipping people south when they try to come north.
A few sources:
- Removal and Return of Non-Mexican Nationals from the United States to Mexico (Mexico City: Instituto para las Mujeres en Migración IMUMI, June 2024).
- Diego Ore, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Laura Gottesdiener, Ted Hesson, How Mexico’s Migrant Crackdown Influences the U.S. Election (Reuters, Reuters, Monday, October 28, 2024).
- David Agren, The Other Border Crisis: How Mexico Is Enforcing Migration Policies Ahead of the U.S. Election (America The Jesuit Review, Thursday, October 31, 2024).
- Mary Beth Sheridan, How Mexico Is Helping Biden and Harris at the U.S. Border (The Washington Post, Saturday, September 14, 2024).
- Michelle Hackman, Santiago Perez, How the U.S. and Mexico Drove Border Crossings Down in an Election Year (The Wall Street Journal, Monday, August 5, 2024).
- Paulina Villegas, Simon Romero, The Other Busing Program: Mexico Is Pushing Migrants Back South (The New York Times, Tuesday, May 14, 2024).
- Felix Marquez, Megan Janetsky, Mexico’s Tactic to Cut Immigration to the Us: Wear Out Migrants (Associated Press, Associated Press, Tuesday, June 11, 2024).
- Peter Appleby, Is Mexico Fueling a Gang War by Sending Migrants to Tabasco? (InsightCrime, Friday, October 18, 2024).
- Todd Miller, “Mexico Is the Wall”: Deterrence in the Time of Elections (The Border Chronicle, Thursday, October 17, 2024) https://www.theborderchronicle.com/p/mexico-is-the-wall-deterrence-in.