The Independent View: Mexico Policies Aimed at Stopping Migrants Crossing U.S. Border

Mexico will continue pursuing Measures to stop Migrants from reaching its Northern Border with the U.S., its Top Diplomat said on Friday, days after Trump Won the U.S. Presidential Election, vowing a continued Crackdown on Illegal Immigration.

Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente stressed that Mexico's Biden/Harris Model is working and will stay in place, pointing to Data that shows the Number of Migrants caught by U.S. Authorities at the Border had fallen 76% since December, 2023. "It's working well and we're going to continue on this path," He told a Press Conference.

At the same Conference, New President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that She had spoken to Trump about the Border in their First telephone call a day earlier, while also pointing to the sharp fall in Migrant Crossings. "He raised the issue of the border... and I told him, 'Yes, there is the issue of the border, but there will be space to talk about it,'" said Sheinbaum, who described the conversation as "very cordial."

Trump has threatened to slap 25% Tariffs on All Mexican Exports, unless its Government stops Migrants and Drugs from Crossing the shared Border. Mexico is extraordinarily reliant on the U.S. Market, which is the Destination of around 80% of its Exports.

Since the beginning of this year, Mexico has quietly carried out a Crackdown on Migrants seeking Entry into the U.S., including a growing Program to Bus and Fly Non-Mexican Migrants far to the South.

The Crackdown followed Pressure from the outgoing Biden Administration and Contrasts sharply with the Mexican Government's stated Humanitarian Goals, which aim to Protect the Human Rights of Migrants while creating Employment Opportunities for those who decide to stay in Mexico.

Sheinbaum emphasized the Humanitarian Focus on Friday. "What we are looking for is not only the containment of migration in the south, but also that there can be employment," She said, stressing the need to attend to the Root Causes of Migration.

But Migration Experts and Advocates, who already consider the Mexican Government's Migration Policies as too harsh, fear that these measures will only harden once Trump takes Office in 2025.

"With the new U.S. government, these (Mexican) enforcement measures will grow even stronger," said Jose Maria Garcia, the Director of a Migrant Shelter in the Northern Border City of Tijuana.

The next step should be a stronger Border system with Guatemala. Guatemala and Mexico share an extensive Border that runs from the Western Region to the Northern Region of Guatemala. The International Border between the Two Countries is 541 miles long. It is Guatemala’s Longest Border with another Nation, used to get to the U.S.

A better way would be People wanting to come to the U.S., go through the Legal Process in their Home Country, and if Approved, then come to the U.S. The current system of sending Migrants to a U.S. City for their meeting with a Judge, must Stop.