A crackdown on migration into the United States from Mexican authorities is helping slow migrant flow into the country, resulting in authorities stopping nearly three times as many people as they did last year.
This crackdown comes amidst pressure the Biden administration is putting on Central and South American countries to do more to clamp down on border crossings.
Helping Reduce Migration
US officials assert that this increase in enforcement from Mexican authorities is helping taper down border numbers that would normally be surging during this time of year as the weather gets warmer.
Biden officials are holding up this enforcement strategy to show that the border problem can be handled without more extreme methods suggested by Republicans and Donald Trump.
Dirty Work
Amy Fischer, director of refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA, outlined the dynamic as Mexico doing the United States’ work for them.
“In one way, they are doing the dirty work of the U.S. in order to keep people from accessing the U.S. southern border and exercising their right to seek safety,” Fischer said.
Fruitful Efforts
Biden officials view the migrant crackdown as a result of sustained cooperation between the US and Mexico as they both grapple with immigration concerns ahead of elections.
“President Biden and President AMLO have developed a relationship in which they talk about the shared challenges [of migration], and they both jointly recognize the shared challenges,” a senior Biden administration official said. “They’ve had multiple conversations and multiple calls over the last couple of years tackling and talking about this issue.”
Election Season
Joe Biden faces a reelection challenge in November, and the race is pretty close. According to FiveThirtyEight, which takes averages from many polls, Biden is around 1% behind Trump in national polls.
The Mexican general elections are also this same year and will be held in June. Both countries’ leaders are motivated to take steps to fix immigration issues to shore up supporters ahead of the vote.
Americans Feel the Border is a Serious Concern
Consistent polling has shown that American voters are concerned about border security and disapprove of the job Joe Biden has done so far.
A poll in April found that a majority of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of immigration. 68 percent of US adults disapprove of Biden’s immigration policy while only 31 percent approve of it. Only 56 percent of Democrats thought the president had a good handle on the issue.
Important Issue
A survey from Gallup in February found that the immigration issue is the leading reason that Biden’s critics disapprove of his work as President.
19% percent of respondents who disapprove of Biden’s job performance said immigration was at the top of their mind. The economy clocked in at 9%, inflation at 5%, and 4% said foreign affairs.
Tough Issue for Biden
Joe Biden has been cautious about taking aggressive executive action on the border for fear of alienating his voter base. Instead, Biden has preferred to kick the problem to Congress, which has been stymied by Republicans multiple times.
In February, Trump took credit for “killing” a bi-partisan border bill introduced in the Senate by Republican Mitch McConnell.
Why Doesn’t Biden Use Executive Action?
For months, Biden has been mulling over what options he has as president to address the border issue but has been hesitant to act.
He doesn’t want to be seen as “cracking down” on migrants, an impression which might anger his supporters. However, he also doesn’t want to take the blame for the current migrant influx, which has been straining resources across America’s cities.
Nuclear Option
Biden has dangled the possibility of committing to a so-called “nuclear option” which could stop immigrants from seeking asylum at the southern border without congressional approval.
In March, Axios reported that “The bullet’s in the chamber,” and the Daily Mail reported that there was a possibility of implementing it at the end of April, though it still remains to be seen.
Immigration Numbers Will Affect Everything
The increased immigration restriction efforts from Mexcian authorities might give Biden some breathing room to not have to commit to the nuclear option.
Meanwhile, Democrats are working hard to revive legislative efforts to fund border security in Congress ahead of the November election
What Are the Current Immigration Numbers?
April figures for border crossings and encounters have yet to be released. However, they are expected to show comparatively lower numbers than the uptick that some immigration analysts predicted for April and May.
US Customs and Border Protection numbers in March showed 137,480 encounters. While this number is relatively high for recent years, it is 45% lower than the peak in December, and 16% lower than March from last year.
