link to page 1 link to page 1



Updated June 27, 2019
Mexico’s Immigration Control Efforts
Background

more dangerous routes that increased their reliance on
Mexico, along with the United States, is experiencing a
smugglers. These groups expressed concern that Mexico
surge in unauthorized migration from the “Northern
did not adequately address corruption among police and
Triangle” of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and
migration officials or increase its prosecutions for crimes
Honduras). U.S. and Mexican officials are struggling to
against migrants. By 2018, increasing numbers of migrants
deal with high numbers of family units and unaccompanied
began to travel in groups (caravans) as a way to share
minors, many of whom are seeking asylum. As the Trump
resources and gain protection.
Administration has tightened migrant access to the asylum
system, Mexico has absorbed increasing numbers of Central
In December 2018, President Andrés Manuel López
Americans and others in need of humanitarian protection
Obrador took office, promising to offer humanitarian
(see Figure 1). To avoid U.S. tariffs, the Mexican
assistance to Central American migrants in Mexico and
government agreed on June 7, 2019, to remove (deport)
protect their rights. López Obrador announced a plan to
more migrants and allow more asylum seekers to await
invest $25 billion in southern Mexico that would create jobs
their U.S. asylum proceedings in Mexico. (See CRS Insight
for migrants. He has also pledged $30 million to support a
IN11130, President Trump’s Possible Tariffs on Mexican
U.N. regional development plan for Central America;
Goods: Potential Economic Effects.)
Mexico and others have long maintained that the best way
to stop illegal immigration from Central America is to
Figure 1. Mexico: Reported Apprehensions of
address the insecurity and lack of opportunities there.
Migrants from Northern Triangle Countries and
Asylum Applications

At the same time, López Obrador endorsed a principle of
government austerity and did not increase funding for INM
or for Mexico’s backlogged Commission for the Aid of
Refugees (COMAR). Under pressure from the United
States to reduce unauthorized migration and with its
detention facilities at well over capacity, the Mexican
government suspended provision of one-year humanitarian
visas in southern Mexico as of February 2019. Mexico’s
apprehensions of migrants from Northern Triangle
countries also have increased (see Figure 2). Similarly,
although many Mexicans provided support to migrant
caravans in 2018, a majority of Mexicans polled in 2019
oppose Central American migration.

Source: CRS. Information from Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior.
Figure 2. Mexico: Recent Trends in Reported
Apprehensions of Central American Migrants

Immigration Control
In 2014, then-President Enrique Peña Nieto implemented a
Southern Border Plan that established naval bases on
Mexico’s rivers, security cordons north of the country’s
borders with Guatemala and Belize, and a drone
surveillance program. Unarmed agents from the National
Migration Institute (INM), the only Mexican agency with
authority to detain migrants, increased operations along
train routes and at bus stations. INM improved the
infrastructure at border crossings and created mobile
highway checkpoints. With U.S. support, INM sought to

professionalize its workforce and improve coordination
Source: CRS. Data from Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior.
with Mexican federal police, navy, army, and customs
agencies.
Humanitarian Protection
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
The State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights
other international organizations report that half of all
Practices and Trafficking in Persons report document how
children and a sizable proportion of women fleeing the
migrants in Mexico are vulnerable to human rights abuses
Northern Triangle may need international assistance and
and human trafficking. Human rights groups argued that
protection, even if they do not qualify as refugees under the
Peña Nieto’s Southern Border Plan pushed migrants to take
1951 Refugee Convention. Mexico has a broader definition
of refugee than the United States and the 1951 Refugee
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Mexico’s Immigration Control Efforts
Convention; it recognizes a right to asylum based on
Mexican border cities, some of which have high rates of
“generalized violence; foreign aggression; internal
violent crime, are now sheltering thousands of migrants
conflicts; massive violations of human rights; and other
with little support from either federal government.
circumstances leading to a serious disturbance of public
order.” As a result, some of the migrants arriving in Mexico
Bilateral Immigration Agreement?
could qualify as refugees. In the past, activists claimed that
In recent months, President Trump has vowed to close the
INM agents did not inform migrants of the right to request
U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico does not stop U.S.-bound
asylum. Recently, asylum requests have surged. The
unauthorized migration. In late May 2019, the President
numbers have grown from 15,650 in 2013-2016 to 14,619
threatened to impose escalating tariffs on Mexican motor
in 2017 and 29,647 in 2018. According to COMAR,
vehicle exports if the Mexican government did not
Mexico is projected to receive 60,000 asylum requests in
significantly increase its efforts to stop U.S.-bound
2019.
migrants. On June 7, 2019, the governments reached an
agreement to avert the tariffs for at least the next 90 days.
Despite UNHCR support, COMAR reportedly does not
have sufficient budget or staff to process pending asylum
According to the U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration, Mexico
claims. COMAR granted refugee status to 1,014 individuals
agreed to deploy its newly created National Guard to the
from Northern Triangle countries in 2018. It granted
southern border, dismantle human smuggling networks, and
“complementary protection” (relief from deportation but
accept the expansion of the MPP across the entire border.
not permanent residency) to 1,155 individuals who failed to
Mexico also agreed to provide jobs and social services to
qualify for asylum. On average, in 2018, COMAR granted
asylum seekers returned from the United States. Both
asylum or complementary protection to 50.1% of applicants
countries reiterated their commitment to a December 18,
from Northern Triangle countries.
2018, joint announcement in support of economic
development in Mexico and the Northern Triangle. The
U.S. Foreign Assistance
June statement also states that both governments will
Since FY2014, the State Department has allocated over
continue discussing other measures to reduce migration. On
$100 million in Mérida Initiative funding to support
June 10, 2019, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard
Mexico’s immigration control efforts. U.S. funds have
said those discussions have involved establishing a “safe
provided nonintrusive inspection equipment, mobile kiosks,
third-country agreement” that could require certain
canine teams, and vehicles, as well as training in
migrants who transit Mexico to apply for asylum in Mexico
immigration enforcement. U.S. support helped build a
rather than in the United States.
secure communications network for Mexican agencies in
the southern border area and are helping Mexico collect
While many business groups praised the agreement for
biometric information that interfaces with U.S. databases.
averting U.S. tariffs, human rights groups criticized it for
The State Department also provided $7 million in FY2018
lack of clarity on how it will be funded and implemented
and $42 million thus far in FY2019 through the Migration
effectively and fairly. Critics fear that using a militarized
and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account to UNHCR to
force such as Mexico’s National Guard for migration
improve access to asylum in Mexico, provide legal
management may lead to additional human rights abuses.
assistance and alternatives to detention for asylum seekers,
Humanitarian experts have warned about the agreement’s
and increase COMAR’s asylum processing capacity.
impact on Mexico’s overcrowded detention facilities in the
south and on shelters in the north.
U.S. Migrant Protection Protocols
In December 2018, President López Obrador decided to
Congressional Action
allow Central American asylum seekers to be returned to
The 116th Congress continues to fund and oversee U.S.
Mexico under the U.S. Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)
migration-related assistance to Mexico provided through
announced in December 2018 by the U.S. Department of
the Mérida Initiative and the MRA account. The amount of
Homeland Security (DHS). DHS implemented the new
such funding the State Department may provide to Mexico
policy (“Remain in Mexico”) under Section 235(b)(2)(C) of
for FY2019 is unclear, since P.L. 116-6 did not specify how
the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the
much Mérida Initiative or MRA funds to allocate for
United States to return some non-Mexican asylum seekers
migration management in Mexico. The House-passed
(excluding unaccompanied minors) to Mexico to await their
FY2020 minibus, H.R. 2740 (Division D covers foreign
immigration court decisions. The policy is facing legal
operations appropriations and references H.Rept. 116-78 to
challenges, but court orders currently in effect allow DHS
H.R. 2839) would provide $126.8 million for the Mérida
to continue implementing it. INM asserts that 15,000
Initiative overall (not just migration) and an unspecified
migrants had been returned to Mexico as of June 24, 2019.
amount of MRA funding to support COMAR. The House-
(See CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10251, “Migrant Protection
passed version of the FY2020 border supplemental measure
Protocols”: Legal Issues Related to DHS’s Plan to Require
(H.R. 3401) would require the DHS Secretary to establish
Arriving Asylum Seekers to Wait in Mexico.)
policies related to the MPP; the Senate-passed border
supplemental bill does not mention MPP (S. 1900).
López Obrador’s decision to allow Central American
Legislation also has been introduced to prohibit funding for
migrants to be returned to Mexico has put pressure on local
the MPP (H.R. 2662).
governments and aid organizations assisting migrants. With
Clare Ribando Seelke, Specialist in Latin American
U.S. border officials limiting the number of migrants
accepted daily for asylum screening at U.S. ports of entry,
Affairs
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Mexico’s Immigration Control Efforts

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.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10215 · VERSION 21 · UPDATED