Mexico tightens migration policy

Mith the change in measures against illegal immigration in the USA, neighboring Mexico is tightening its migration policy. The Mexican government announced on Friday that the issuance of transit documents for migrants who had previously been able to legally move through Mexico to the US border will be stopped with immediate effect. So far, migrants with the documents have been able to stay in Mexico for 30 days without fear of being apprehended by the local authorities. It was initially unclear whether the change was temporary or permanent.

The government also announced that it would deport undocumented migrants from Mexico to their home countries more quickly in the future. She justified this by saying that there are currently not enough collection points for her accommodation. This week, 33 INM collection centers for detained migrants were temporarily closed after a fire at one such collection center killed 40 people in March. It is currently not possible to accommodate people safely, the government said.

According to Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Friday, around 26,500 migrants are staying in the border region in northern Mexico. US media had reported 150,000 people. In the southern state of Chiapas, on the border between Mexico and Guatemala, thousands of migrants have been waiting for entry papers for months.

On Friday night, a controversial deportation practice was lifted in the United States, which had made it possible to quickly reject migrants in previous years, citing the pandemic.

The US is now returning to the application of the so-called Title 8 regime. The administrative effort for the border guards is higher because migrants can no longer be deported without regular procedures. At the same time, there are stricter rules: The Title 8 regulation provides for a five-year ban on re-entry in the event of an illegal immigration attempt. Fines and imprisonment can also be imposed.