The U.S.-Mexico border has recently been the epicenter of a critical immigration situation.
The growing number of migrants seeking entry into the United States has strained government resources and become contentious. Economic factors, either poor conditions in migrants’ home countries or better economic opportunities in the U.S., are widely viewed as major reasons for the migrant influx.
A sizable majority of Americans (78%) say the large number of migrants seeking to enter this country at the U.S.-Mexico border is either a crisis (45%) or a major problem (32%). The situation has been described as unprecedented, with record levels of migration straining an immigration system left nearly broken by decades of congressional inaction.
The surge of encounters at the U.S. border has risen to unprecedented levels. In December 2023 alone, border patrol agents recorded 302,000 encounters. This crisis has deadly consequences, with over 50 migrants dying in an abandoned lorry on a highway in Texas⁵.
The situation calls for immediate attention and effective solutions to address the humanitarian crisis and ensure the safety and well-being of the migrants.
Most migrants to the United States come over the border with Mexico to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Mexico has agreed to some things that it isn’t legally obligated to do, such as deploying its National Guard to arrest migrants, and accepting the return of non-Mexicans who pass through on their way to the U.S.
Migration isn’t much of an issue in Mexico, outside of calls for the fair treatment of Mexicans in the U.S. Mexico’s next president will almost certainly have latitude in deciding either to stop cooperating with the United States, or crack down harder on migrants heading north. Either would be a big change and migration is already certain to be a key issue for whoever wins the White House in November.
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