Mexico’s Migration Control Efforts
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https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated December 4, 2024
Mexico’s Migration Control Efforts
Background
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 Andrés Manuel López 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 1. Reported Apprehensions of Migrants by Mexican Authorities by Region of Origin (CY2020- August 2024)
Source: Graph by CRS, based on information from Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior.
Mexico’s Immigration Control Policies
Mexico's Migration Control Efforts
For more than a decade, consecutive U.S. Administrations have sought to coordinate with Mexico to reduce unauthorized migration to the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported record numbers of migrant encounters (2.5 million) on the southern border in FY2023 and still elevated numbers in FY2024 (2.1 million), raising concerns in Congress. Since January 2025, President Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border and imposed tariffs in an effort to compel Mexico to reduce unauthorized migration and drug trafficking. In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expanded collaboration with U.S. officials on migration control. Migrant encounters fell by 93.3% from February to July 2025, as compared to the same period in 2024. Increases in migration through Mexico and requests for asylum in Mexico have revealed gaps in the government's capacity to manage migration and protect migrants. The 119th Congress may assess Mexico's role in controlling U.S.-bound migration and receiving U.S. repatriations of Mexicans and individuals from third countries. Congress may examine the effect of U.S. migration and border security policy changes and reductions in foreign assistance on Mexican and bilateral migration management efforts. Mexico's Migration Policies
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
operations along train routes and at bus stations, improved infrastructurescreening at border crossings, and set up mobile highway checkpoints. The agencyINM conducts biometric screening of migrants at ports of entry and 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 outsome migrant deaths and cases of abuse.
Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador After the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of migrants entering Mexico from regions beyond Central America increased. In 2024, Mexican authorities apprehended more than 1.2 million migrants, largely from South America (primarily Venezuela). Migration through Mexico slowed after a June 2024 executive order (E.O.) restricted asylum access at the southern border. Migration flows dropped dramatically in 2025.
Source: Graph by CRS, based on information from Mexico's Secretary of the Interior.took office pledging(2018-2024) initially pledged to adopt a humanitarian approach to migration. From 2019 onward, his government implemented tougher migration control strategies, partially in response to pressure from the Trump and Biden Administrations. INM increased migrant apprehensions, and the government deployed its National Guard (formed in 2019) for migration enforcement (See Figure 1).
The Mexican government took a number of measures to respond to changing migration patterns prior to the drop in 2025. Starting in 2021, Mexico began requiring visas for nationals of Venezuela and other South American countries. The government also sought to keep asylum seekers in southern Mexico, often
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.
Since taking office in October 2024, President Sheinbaum has continued to implement her predecessor's enforcement policies and redirected funds to INM and COMAR. In February, Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 additional National Guard troops to Mexico's borders. Her government has flown some migrants to their countries of origin in cooperation with the United States. President Sheinbaum has not formally agreed to restart the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), an initiative that had allowed DHS to return certain non-Mexicans in U.S. removal proceedings to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. Nevertheless, the Mexican government accepted some 6,500 non-Mexican migrants from the United States from late January to June 2025, and some 69,000 Mexicans were repatriated during that period. Although Mexico has a program to receive and reintegrate Mexicans removed from the United States, services for non-Mexicans are limited. Some analysts maintain that the DHS decision to send repatriation flights to southern Mexico rather than to Mexico City or to northern border cities has complicated humanitarian efforts to assist deportees. Mexico has a broader definition of refugee than the United States or the 1951 UN 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."
Source: CRS, based on data from Mexico's Commission for the Aid of Refugees (COMAR). The Trump Administration has taken numerous executive actions to counter unauthorized migration. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation suspending the entry of unauthorized migrants at the southwest border, including nearly all asylum seekers. That suspension of asylum has been subject to legal challenge. In E.O. 14165, "Securing Our Borders," the President terminated use of the "CBP One" application, a tool the Biden Administration created to manage appointments for asylum seekers at ports of entry, canceling the appointments of migrants waiting in Mexico. DHS has sought to increase removals to Mexico, including of migrants from third countries. The U.S. military has expanded its footprint at the southern border, including in new "national defense areas"—or military zones—as directed by President Trump." Migrants detained while trespassing those zones face federal charges. From FY2015 to FY2023, the State Department provided more than $176.6 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funding to support Mexico's immigration control efforts. U.S. funds enabled the provision of nonintrusive inspection equipment, mobile kiosks, canine teams, and vehicles, as well as training for more than 1,000 officials. It is unclear whether any such programs continue to operate. Congress may influence U.S.-Mexico migration cooperation through legislation, including appropriations, and oversight. P.L. 119-21 (H.R. 1), signed into law in July 2025, includes a significant increase in funds for immigration detention and removals but no funds for migration-related programs in Mexico. The House-reported version of the FY2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (H.R. 4779) would replace the MRA account with a new International Humanitarian Assistance account focused primarily on emergent situations. The measure would prohibit funding for any programs that contravene E.O. 14165 and E.O. 14218 ("Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders") and any assistance that facilitates "irresponsible migration." The accompanying report (H.Rept. 119-217) expresses support for the provision of U.S. assistance for Mexico's refugee agencies. Congress could consider expanding, restricting, or placing conditions or reporting requirements on any U.S. migration assistance provided to Mexico and could assess the effects of reductions or cancellations of such assistance. From 2019 through the end of his term, López 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 Mexico. Mexico's Commission for the Aid of Refugees (COMAR) restricted access to humanitarian visas that had allowed migrants to transit the country. These policies coincided with reported human rights abuses and crimes against migrants.
Sheinbaum Administration
Humanitarian Protection in Mexico
U.S. Policy
Foreign Assistance
Congressional Considerations
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.
Humanitarian Protection in Mexico
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.”
Mexico’s Migration Control Efforts
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Asylum requests more than tripled in Mexico from 2020 to 2023 (Figure 2). With support from UNHCR, COMAR registered 140,000 asylum applications in 2023, with most asylum seekers coming from Haiti, Honduras, Cuba, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Afghanistan is the only country outside the Western Hemisphere in the top 10 countries of origin for asylum applicants. In 2023, more than 80% of applicants from Honduras and El Salvador received asylum in Mexico; 13% of Haitians were approved.
Figure 2. Asylum Applications in Mexico: CY2020 Through September 2024
Source: CRS, based on data from Mexico’s Commission for the Aid of Refugees (COMAR).
U.S. Policy
The Biden Administration initially halted some of the Trump Administration’s restrictive border policies. In October 2021, the Biden Administration ended the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy requiring most asylum seekers who arrive at the border to remain in Mexico during the adjudication of their applications. However, CBP continued to enforce pandemic-related asylum restrictions under the Public Health Service Act (Title 42 of the U.S. Code) until May 2023. During that period, Mexico accepted U.S. expulsions from an expanded number of nationalities. According to CBP data, the United States made 2.9 million expulsions to Mexico under Title 42 from March 2020 to May 2023. As noted above, the Biden Administration limited access to asylum in June 2024 after encounters had risen to record high numbers.
Migrant Protection Protocols
In January 2019, DHS implemented the MPP (also known commonly as Remain in Mexico) policy under Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The MPP allowed DHS to return to Mexico non-Mexican inadmissible aliens (excluding unaccompanied children) entering or seeking admission at the U.S.-Mexico land border. DHS placed these individuals in formal removal proceedings and required them to wait in Mexico for the duration of their proceedings in immigration court. The Trump Administration returned roughly 71,000 MPP enrollees to Mexico to await processing. Of completed MPP cases, less than 1% were granted asylum or another form of protection in the United States. The Mexican government announced it would offer basic services and jobs to those affected by MPP but struggled due to budget constraints. From January 2019 to January 2021, Mexican border cities received limited support from the
federal government even as the number of migrants in Mexico increased. The lack of support left migrants more vulnerable to exploitation and violent crime.
President-elect Trump has pledged to increase removals (deportations), restart the MPP, and impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico to remain in place until the Mexican government stops irregular U.S.-bound migration and drug trafficking. The Mexican government reportedly has increased staffing at its U.S. consulates to assist migrants who may be at risk of removal. The Sheinbaum government has vowed to bolster Mexico’s capacity to receive and reintegrate Mexican deportees and discussed Mexican enforcement efforts with President-elect Trump. It is unclear whether, and under what conditions, Mexico would agree to the MPP being restarted.
Anti-Smuggling Efforts In October 2021, Mexico and the United States entered into the U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities. The framework facilitates cooperation to secure borders and ports of entry as well as efforts to combat cross-border crimes, including migrant smuggling and human trafficking. U.S. agencies have increased U.S. investigations and prosecutions of human smugglers, expanded a unit with Mexican prosecutors targeting migrant smuggling, and sanctioned criminal groups involved in human smuggling.
Foreign Assistance From FY2015 to FY2023, the State Department provided more than $176.6 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funding to support Mexico’s immigration control efforts. U.S. funds enabled the provision of nonintrusive inspection equipment, mobile kiosks, canine teams, and vehicles, as well as training for more than 1,000 officials. U.S. assistance helped Mexican agencies build a more secure communications network in Mexico’s southern border area and install biometric screening equipment in Mexico’s 52 migrant detention centers that interfaces with U.S. databases.
From FY2018 through FY2023, the State Department has provided more than $163 million through the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account to UNHCR to improve access to asylum in Mexico, provide legal assistance and shelter for asylum seekers, and increase COMAR’s asylum processing capacity. MRA funds also have supported other humanitarian organizations in Mexico involved in improving shelters, providing medical aid, and transporting migrants who agree to be sent back to their home countries.
Congressional Considerations
Congress may influence U.S.-Mexico migration cooperation through legislation, including appropriations, and oversight. H.R. 2, passed by the House in May 2023, would direct the Secretary of State to seek to reestablish an agreement similar to the MPP with Mexico. The House- passed version of the FY2025 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs) measure, H.R. 8771, would cut global MRA funding. In contrast, the Senate-reported version, S. 4797, would increase global MRA funds. Congress could consider expanding, restricting, or placing
Mexico’s Migration Control Efforts
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conditions or reporting requirements on U.S. migration assistance to Mexico.
Clare Ribando Seelke, Specialist in Latin American Affairs
IF10215
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.