The Mexican government is concerned that President Biden’s asylum policy is encouraging illegal immigration and generating money for drug cartels through human trafficking across the US border.
Mexico has asked the Biden government for assistance in providing development assistance to Central America, as many of the migrants come from countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala seeking asylum in the US.
“They see him as the migrant president, and so many think they will reach the United States,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said of Biden after their virtual meeting on March 1, Reuters said.
“We have to work together to regulate the flow because this business cannot be tackled overnight,” added Lopez Obrador.
Some of Biden’s policies that are of concern to the Mexican government include a rapid path to citizenship for migrants living in the US and support for victims of gang violence.
Internal reviews reviewed by Reuters – based on testimonials and intelligence gathering – state that Mexican gangs have expanded their clientele and monitored US measures that would encourage migration. In addition, they have developed a new tracking system to move migrants across the US-Mexico border.
A Mexican official, who asked for anonymity, told Reuters the cartels have been using sophisticated smuggling methods “from the day Biden took office”,
Those strategies include keeping migrants informed about the latest immigration rules, using technology to thwart authorities and disguising smuggling operations such as travel agents, the reviews said.
Reuters also reported that plastic wristbands, some of which were labeled “arrival” or “import” in Spanish, were discarded near Penitas, Texas after illegal immigrants crossed the border.
“Migrants have become a commodity,” the official told the outlet. ‘But if a packet of drugs is lost in the sea, it’s gone. When migrants are lost, we are talking about people. “