Before Trump Threat, Mexico Agreed on Migrant Detention Target
Before Trump Threat, Mexico Agreed on Migrant Detention Target
(Bloomberg) -- Before President Donald Trump’s tariff threat, Mexico had agreed with the U.S. to detain a specific number of undocumented migrants, a target that’s now under question as illegal crossings have surged, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Both countries early this year set the target, which the people said was as many as 800 detainees per day.
But as the number of migrants crossing into the U.S. continues to rise, triggering the fury of Trump, the White House will present Mexico a new request to strengthen its immigration policy in their meeting on Wednesday, said one of the people.
Both people asked for anonymity because the agreement hasn’t been made public. The White House and Mexican foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Migration has been an increasingly contentious issue for the bilateral relationship, with Trump expressing frustration over the arrival of increasing numbers of undocumented migrants.
Trump’s Tariff
Trump last month announced a 5% tariff on all imports from Mexico unless it takes “decisive measures” -- as judged by his administration -- to stem migrants entering the U.S., according to a White House statement. The tariffs would begin June 10 and scale up incrementally until they reach 25% on Oct. 1.
In recent months, Mexico has seen a surge of people, including women and children, crossing its southern border without documents, many of them forming caravans as they flee violence and political persecution in Central America and move toward the U.S.
The number of undocumented migrants apprehended by Mexico climbed 79% in April from a year earlier and more than 100% in May compared to the prior year, according to data supplied by the press office of the country’s National Immigration Institute, or INM.
The April daily average of 685 and May average of 763 apprehensions wasn’t enough to stop Trump from threatening tariffs on Mexican goods.
In May, the Mexican government apprehended a total of 23,679 people, far beyond the 8,248 detained in January.
But as Mexico stopped more migrants, the number entering the U.S. also increased. The number of migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border rose to 132,887 in May, the highest since 2006, according to agency data released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The INM, Mexico’s government agency in charge of detaining undocumented migrants, slashed its spending by more than half compared to the same period last year, as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador applied stiff austerity measures throughout his administration.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nacha Cattan in Mexico City at ncattan@bloomberg.net;Eric Martin in Mexico City at emartin21@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum
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