User:MarlaGuerra/Mexico–United States border crisis

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The Mexico–United States border crisis is an ongoing migrant crisis in North America concerning the migration of undocumented immigrants from Latin America through Mexico and into the United States.

Mexican immigration to the US dates back to the end of the Mexican-American War. Migrant encounters at the Mexico–U.S. border began to surge in late 2020, reaching a record number of 1.73 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2021, 2.76 million in fiscal 2022, more than 2.8 million in fiscal year 2023, and roughly 1.3 million so far in 2024. The migrants, who are mostly of Guatemalan, El Salvadorian, Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan citizenship, are reported to be escaping economic hardship, gang violence and environmental disaster in their home countries (particularly acute in Guatemala and Honduras) to seek asylum in the US.

The number of migrant encounters reached a peak in April 2022, when Border Patrol reported over 224,000 apprehensions. However, this has been easily eclipsed by the 250,000 migrant encounters that peaked in December 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump administration used Title 42 to expel migrants from the United States with a stated aim of reducing public health risks. Towards the end of 2022, a large camp of migrants had formed on the Mexican side of the border waiting for Title 42 to be lifted. The conditions they were living in were described as "dire."

Unlike the demographic of migrants in the preceding years, an increasing proportion of current migrants arriving at the Mexico–US border are children, most of whom are unaccompanied children. In fiscal year 2023, about 137,275 unaccompanied minors crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Within the current fiscal year, roughly 65,463 unaccompanied minors have arrived in the U.S. However, policies related to the care and custody of such children have been controversial.

Death along the border

Main article: Migrant deaths along the Mexico–United States border

The International Organization of Migration (IOM) documented 686 deaths and disappearances of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022, making it the deadliest land route for migrants worldwide. This is a stark surge compared to when the USBP reported 294 migrant deaths in the fiscal year 2017 (ending September 30, 2017), which was lower than in 2016 (321), and any year during the period 2003–2014. Some of the leading causes are exposure (including heat stroke, dehydration, and hyperthermia. Many recent deaths and disappearances have been linked to the record-breaking heat and therefore hazardous crossing conditions of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. However, rates of migrant deaths and disappearances have only increased in recent years.

According to the estimates by group Border Angels, about 10,000 people have died in their attempt to cross border since 1994. However, the statistics mentioned above reflect only known deaths and do not include estimates for those who have never been found. Some migrant deaths may go unreported even when they are brought to the attention of officials. In a recent interaction between WOLA and Border Patrol officials, the agency claims to have found 640 deceased migrants between October 2022 and August 2023. Yet, this still reflects an undercount. There have been minimal efforts from local law enforcement agencies to keep accurate and robust tracking of migrant deaths. Additionally, there is inadequate infrastructure to identify and return remains to families.

Timeline

Obama administration

See also: 2014 American immigration crisis

In 2014, the US declared a crisis at the border due to an influx of unaccompanied minors and women making their way through checkpoints. The US southern border had long struggled with implementing policies that aim to prevent immigration-related tragedies. With a decline in unlawful immigration from Mexico, the crisis predominantly concerned increased immigration from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), encompassing Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Academics claimed the immigration crisis was a result of US interventions in Central America during the Cold War, with high amounts of political instability, violent crime, and poverty stemming from the US's support of authoritarian regimes.

In several places, dangers including kidnapping, murder, and sexual assault threatened thousands of Central American migrants who had been clustered in Mexican border cities like Matamoros, Tamaulipas, for months, blocked from seeking asylum in the US because of new restriction policies. The US government and United Nations provided free transportation to return refugees to their homes in Central America, but many others who were stuck in Matamoros said that desperation had led them to consider treacherous and potentially life-threatening methods of illegal entry—crossing the river, climbing into tractor-trailers driven by human smugglers, or both. In 2019, as the USBP reported, the number of migrants caught hiding in tractor-trailers along the border had risen by 40 percent that year.

Proposed legislative remedies

In June 2013, the Senate approved the most comprehensive immigration overhaul bill since 1986. Negotiated by a bipartisan group of eight senators, fourteen Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for the measure; President Obama promised to sign it. Most conservative Republicans opposed the bill and said it would be dead on arrival in the House. The bill provided for increased border security, including 20,000 new border patrol officers, completion of 700 miles of border fencing and new border surveillance equipment. The bill also provided a "path to citizenship" for some eleven million undocumented immigrants already living in the country. Gallup polling found the overhaul was broadly supported by both Democrats and Republicans. Speaker John Boehner refused to consider the bill in the House, promising "to do our own bill." No immigration reform bill emerged.

Legacy

The immigration legacy of the Obama Administration is marked by complexity. While it was known for its stringent enforcement of immigration laws, resulting in the deportation of a significant number of migrants, the establishment of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) stands out. This initiative has provided protection from deportation for over 750,000 individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children.

Trump administration

See also: Immigration policy of Donald Trump

In September 2019, the US Supreme Court allowed a new ruling to take effect that could curtail most asylum applications at the border. The ruling would demand that most asylum seekers who pass through another country first will be ineligible for asylum at the US's southern border. Mark A. Morgan, acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), stated the ruling was set to take effect on the week of October 8, 2019. In an interview with Time, Donald Trump criticized the Obama administration for the separations immigration policy. As the Trump administration stated, the policy is necessary to decrease the "fraudulent" asylum claims among the entrance of Central Americanfamilies coming to the border.

The Trump administration tried to stop migrants from getting into the US at all, asking them to take a number at the border and to wait until they are called for a chance to have their asylum cases heard. As a result, in September 2019, the US immigration court faced over one million waiting for their cases to be heard, matching the highest backlog seen in the US.

In March 2020, the Trump Administration implemented Title 42 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, aiming to mitigate infections within migrant detention facilities. Since its inception, Title 42 has facilitated the deportation of over 2.7 million undocumented individuals, including many who had been previously deported after multiple attempts to enter the U.S. The Biden Administration maintained Title 42 until its expiration in early 2022, following the CDC's announcement.