US Immigration Crisis Worsens as Blinken Heads to Mexico

The migration crisis in the US is worsening, due to a sharp increase in the number of irregular migrants trying to enter the country from Mexico.

By Josep Freixes

According to US authorities, around 10,000 people try to enter the country daily through the Mexican border. With this same data, it is established that the effective entry of irregular migrants reached 2,200,000 people during the year 2023.

Under these circumstances, and pressured by the Republican Party, Secretary of State Blinken will arrive in Mexico to discuss the issue with the authorities of the neighboring country. The meeting comes just as a caravan of thousands of migrants, entire families of up to 24 nationalities, is heading to the Mexican capital from the southern border of the country, in the state of Chiapas, in order to put pressure on both countries regarding their situation.

The worst moment of the year

Luis Rey García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignification, assures that this human caravan exceeds 15,000 members, making it the largest exodus of the year in Mexico and a form of pressure on the authorities on both sides of the Rio Grande to give visibility to the situation of illegal migrants.

“There is a plug and a human knot that is reflected in this group that we lead, we tell the Mexican State that it leaves us no choice but to walk the road until the INM and the finger of the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, says yes or no. Today we walk the poorest of the poorest of the poorest of those of us who are on the cusp of need, those of us who do not have money to pay for visas or polleros,” said Villagrán.

Although it is made up of people of different nationalities, among its members there are many Venezuelans who continue to leave their country, given the harsh living conditions which, even with the partial lifting of economic sanctions against the country, have not improved substantially. There are also many nationalities from various Central American countries, territories experiencing entrenched social violence, and even Asian migrants.

The objective of these migrants is to reach the United States, overcoming the border controls of that country and illegally entering US territory.

In search of Mexican collaboration

The US delegation, led by Secretary Blinken, will seek to strengthen collaboration on migration issues with the Mexican government of President Lopez Obrador, which is not exactly going through its best moment. The Americans will bring to the table the need to “identify ways for Mexico and the US to address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry across our shared border.”

At this meeting, the US will ask Mexico for greater containment of illegal migration, something President Biden already did in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart last week.

“We are going to reinforce everything we can to help maintain the flow, but in an orderly fashion,” said the Mexican president in a press conference. “The agreement is that we will continue working together and we already have a proposal to reinforce our plans, what we have been doing,” added Lopez Obrador.

*The article was first published in Colombia One and was republished with permission.