Deportations in Mexico jumped by 33% in one month after the country agreed to take “unprecedented” steps to stop migrants from reaching the United States and avoid tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump.
Total deportations from Mexico in June were 21,912 vs. 16,507 in May, according to preliminary figures from the national migration authority, and reported by France 24.
The spike in deportations comes weeks after Mexico announced the deployment of 15,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border, 6,000 troops to their Southern border, and froze the bank accounts of 26 human traffickers with “probable links with human trafficking and illegal aid to migrant caravans.”
After a week of tense negotiations, the two sides announced a deal on June 7 under which Mexico agreed to send thousands of National Guardsmen to secure its borders and expand its policy of taking back asylum-seekers while the US processes their claims.
That policy, known as “Remain in Mexico,” has sent nearly 17,000 migrants back to Mexico so far. –France 24
The Mexican Government also announced that it had sent the first group of 66 deportees to their home countries under a new “voluntary return” program after Guatemalan, Honduran and Salvadorian migrants asked to be repatriated.
Meanwhile, according to leaked preliminary figures from US Customs and Border Protection, apprehensions at the border dropped nearly 35% in June as well to 87,000 – down sharply from 132,887 in May. Roughly 7,000 of the apprehensions were unaccompanied minors, 52,000 were family units, and 28,000 (roughly 1/3) were single adults according to the report.
On Monday, President Trump said that Mexico is doing a “great job.” His counterpart, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, welcomed the comment.
“I’m glad President Trump recognizes that we’re making an effort to live up to our commitment to apply our laws and, without violating human rights, reduce the flow of migrants,” he told reporters.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2KVZBhV Tyler Durden