Elections
Thousands of Migrants Depart Mexico’s Southern Border to Reach U.S. Before Election Day
A group of approximately 2,000 migrants departed from Mexico’s southern border on Sunday, aiming to reach the northern part of the country and eventually cross into the United States just weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
Many of the migrants are concerned about the potential for changes in U.S. immigration policies once a new administration is elected. The Associated Press reports on Venezuelan migrant Joel Zambrano, who expressed his worries about the future of the CBP One online system, which allows migrants to make asylum appointments in the U.S. “That is what makes us fearful. They say this could change because they could both close the CBP One appointment and all the services that are helping migrants,” he said.
For migrants like Zambrano, the CBP One system has become a lifeline for securing asylum appointments. However, delays in the scheduling process, combined with growing difficulties in finding employment in southern Mexico due to an influx of foreigners, have pushed more migrants to embark on long and risky journeys to northern Mexico.
The AP adds that this recent group is the largest to leave southern Mexico since Claudia Sheinbaum assumed office as Mexico’s president. Despite expectations that Sheinbaum might adjust immigration policies, her administration has so far continued with the strategies set by her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Previous migrant groups of around 800 and 600 people left earlier in October, but the current exodus marks a notable increase in size.
As the caravan moves northward, it adds pressure on both Mexican and U.S. authorities to address the growing immigration crisis. With the U.S. presidential election looming, the future of key immigration policies remains uncertain, fueling anxiety among migrants and making their journey even more precarious.
In November, president-elect Donald Trump announced on social media that he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico if they do not take an active role in containing illegal immigration as well as the level of illicit drugs entering into the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, after which the Canadian government vowed to secure the border. “We got, I think, a mutual understanding of what they’re concerned about in terms of border security,” Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc, who accompanied Trudeau at Mar-a-Largo, said of the meeting in an interview with Canadian media. “All of their concerns are shared by Canadians and by the government of Canada.”
“We talked about the security posture currently at the border that we believe to be effective, and we also discussed additional measures and visible measures that we’re going to put in place over the coming weeks,” LeBlanc continued. “And we also established, Rosemary, a personal series of rapport that I think will continue to allow us to make that case.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reports the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is preparing to beef up its immigration enforcement capabilities by hiring more staff, adding more vehicles and creating more processing facilities, in the chance that there is an immigration surge sparked by Trump’s presidential election victory. The moves are a change in direction from Trudeau’s public declaration in January 2017 that Canada was a “welcoming” country and that “diversity is our strength” just days after Trump was sworn into office the first time.
The Daily Caller notes the differences in response from the Canadian government verses Mexico’s:
Trudeau’s recent overtures largely differ from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has indicated she is not willing to bend the knee to Trump’s tariff threats. The Mexican leader in November said “there will be a response in kind” to any tariff levied on Mexican goods going into the U.S., and she appeared to deny the president-elect’s claims that she agreed to do more to beef up border security in a recent phone call.
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