Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Mexico City Wednesday to talk with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about the massive surge in migrants that has overwhelmed immigration authorities at the Southern border.
There have been almost a half million encounters with the border patrol at the Southern border since October 1, the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year. That pencils out to around 3.6 million migrants at the border, breaking the 2023 record of 2.47 million migrants.
It should be noted that these migrants are crossing Mexico illegally, and López Obrador has every right to round them up and kick them out of his country. Instead, he wants to use them as bargaining chips with the United States. Blinken is in Mexico City to get López Obrador's asking price for his assistance.
“Secretary Blinken will discuss unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry across our shared border,” his office said in a statement prior to Wednesday’s meeting.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said he is willing to help, but also says he wants to see progress in U.S. relations with Cuba and Venezuela, two of the top senders of migrants, and more development aid for the region.
Both sides face strong pressure to reach an agreement after past steps like limiting direct travel into Mexico or deporting some migrants failed to stop the influx. This month, as many as 10,000 migrants were arrested daily at the southwest U.S. border.
Former Head of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan put the illegal border crossings in grim perspective.
“I think it clearly shows us that the chaos and lawlessness at our borders continues as it has been for the past three years. To put that in perspective, the first two months of this fiscal year, we've seen total nationwide encounters exceed 300,000 In two months,” he said. “That's the equivalent of the entire fiscal year 2020 in the Trump administration that we have experienced the first year under the Biden administration fiscal year 2021. They set a record for total nationwide encounters in fiscal year 2022. They broke that in fiscal year 2023. Right now, in fiscal year 2024, they are on pace to break that with over 3.6 million total nationwide encounters."
One thing that López Obrador may listen to is the closing of rail crossings at the border. These crossings carry freight from Mexico to the U.S., and closing several points of entry for any length of time can severely injure the Mexican economy.
Biden has closed several crossings in Arizona and Texas to transfer border agents to other high-traffic areas at the border. López Obrador would dearly love to see those crossings reopened as soon as possible.
It's not going to happen anytime soon. CNN reports that 11,000 migrants are waiting to cross into the U.S. at the border in Mexico. There is also a growing caravan of migrants that started to walk at Mexico's border with Guatemala. At least 6,000-8,000 people are streaming toward the U.S.
In Tijuana, Mexico, across the border from San Diego, California, an estimated 3,800 migrants from countries like Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela are staying in shelters, according to municipal migration affairs director Enrique Lucero. In Reynosa, Mexico, across the border from McAllen, Texas, another 3,273 migrants are waiting at Senda De Vida shelters, according to pastor Hector Silva, who runs the facilities. And in nearby Matamoros, Mexico, about 4,000 migrants are living in camps, shelters, and abandoned homes, says Glady Cañas who runs nonprofit Ayudandoles a Triunfar.
The waiting migrants feel “desperate,” according to Cañas – but many have put trust in mechanisms like the CBP One app, which automates scheduling appointments to claim asylum with border patrol, she said.
López Obrador will try to get as much as he can in his talks with Blinken. The U.S. secretary's only bargaining chip is the threat to keep the border crossings closed. Blinken must find a way to get López Obrador to "yes" in assisting the U.S. with this crisis.
