The migration agreements signed a year ago between Mexico and the US

The Trump administration has created several strategies during the last couple of years to reduce illegal immigration from Central America.

Typically, most undocumented immigrants attempt to enter the US through Mexico’s borders. In addition to that, thousands of immigrants come to the borders to request asylum and refuge in the US.

The current government believes that immigration is not always positive for the country and that immigrants use essential resources for the local population and do not give anything in return.

Therefore, President Trump initiated new agreements with Mexico a year ago and plans to continue implementing strategies to reduce illegal immigration.

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The agreements established a year ago

The President of the US promised to help Mexico with economic resources if this country committed to the goal of reducing illegal immigration.

The agreement signed by the two countries is called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and denotes certain steps to follow to stop illegal immigration from Mexico’s borders.

MPP- Brief explanation

This program is also known as “Remain in Mexico” and it declares that some immigrants who want to request asylum or refuge in the US remain at the borders of Mexico until they receive a response to their immigration cases.

Mexico also pledged to offer more social benefits to the local population to reduce immigration from its territories.

In exchange, the current government of the US committed to:

• Accelerate asylum processes for immigrants who remain on the borders of Mexico.
• Offer monetary support to improve the quality of life for Mexicans and prevent them from migrating to the US.

This immigration collaboration agreement has severely impacted protocols on the borders of the US, and immigrants now face other threats.

MPP in the midst of the global pandemic

Overall, illegal immigration has indeed declined considerably in the past year due to the government’s effort to mitigate it.

However, amid the global pandemic, immigrants who must remain on Mexico’s borders are currently facing adverse situations.

Let’s see some of the conditions in which they live:

• There are several temporary shelters that immigrants have built on Mexico’s borders to live while waiting for a response to their asylum requests.
• These shelters do not have hygiene protocols, and the toilets are not in proper condition.
• They have no water or food supply and live on donations from surrounding communities and immigrant rights advocates.
• The offices of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) were closed for more than two months due to the Coronavirus pandemic, therefore, the asylum and refuge processes are quite delayed.
• There are no medical personnel to help in the event of a health emergency.
• There are hundreds of testimonies of immigrants under the “Remain in Mexico” policy who have been victims of terrorist groups or local gangs, increasing the threat they are trying to flee from.

The conclusion after one year of MPP implementation

In order to see the results of MPP, we must analyze all the general aspects and not only the reduction of illegal immigration in the US.

We must analyze whether this measure offers a safe space for immigrants living on the borders of Mexico, as well as the opinion of border forces to compare results.

In addition to that, we may see the real impact of this policy in a couple of years, without taking into account the health crisis’ episode we are currently facing.

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