A new report from the Migration Policy Institute indicates that Mexico is on track to surpass the United States for the first time in the apprehension of child migrants, an apparent reflection of a new embrace of its “immigration enforcer” role. Migration to Mexico from the Northern Triangle – Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – has increased sharply, and Mexico has reacted by catching and deporting over 12 times the amount than those apprehended by the U.S., where overall apprehensions at the border are at all-time lows.
“Mexico has been adapting to its changing migration reality from being a country of origin to becoming a country of mostly transit and increasingly of destination and with that adaption Mexico’s responsibility as a regional migration manager is increasing,” said Rodrigo Dominguez, an author of the report.
A severe humanitarian crisis from the flood of refugees escaping war-torn Syria, Yemen, and other Middle East countries plaguing Europe’s porous borders, the crisis playing out in Mexico and the Northern Triangle has experienced similar stories of struggle. Most of those deported, however, have been young, low-skilled males or teens, and the need for basic services upon arrival has become of pressing importance as migration numbers in general have not slowed.
“Today Mexico struggles with the challenge that the U.S. struggled with for decades,” Dominguez said, “which is how to balance the enforcement of migration law on the one hand with the protection of migrants and their rights on the other.”
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