Mexican authorities carried out raids against a number of migrant camps situated near the border with the United States hosting migrants waiting to cross to the other side. These actions occurred following the visit of several secretaries of the Biden Administration who traveled to Mexico during the worst month of the year in terms of illegal entries through the southern border.
According to local media reports, agents from law enforcement and the National Immigration Institute entered camps near the Rio Grande and around the border city of Matamoros this Friday.
Mexican media outlet Heraldo, described this action by the Mexican Government as "unprecedented." According to testimonies, the agents removed booths and tents in addition to arresting 40 people located illegally. According to ABC correspondents, large machines and excavators were used to bring down the settlement.
Despite this, a responsible official from the National Migration Institute denied to AP that the dismantling of the camps was an eviction. "What we are doing is that the tent that we see empty is the tent that we are removing," Doguín told the Sigismundo Doguín agency. "The migrants are already starting to leave," he added.
According to reports, a good number of the immigrants who were evicted from the place and who were detained are of Venezuelan nationality.
🚨#VIDEO | La mayor caravana de migrantes de 2023, conocida como el "éxodo de la pobreza", ha partido del sur de México, formada por unas 10.000 personas de 24 países en ruta hacia la frontera con Estados Unidos.
Todo esto ocurre pese a que el presidente AMLO ha establecido… pic.twitter.com/WxaVy4T2Oo
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) December 30, 2023
Good neighbor policy
The operations took place after the meeting between the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. "It was more than anything cooperation for development and migration. Now more than ever a good neighbor policy is essential," said the Mexican president at the conclusion of this week's meetings.
Despite the coincidence with the weather, the leaders had assured that after the meetings no precise actions were finalized for the coming days. However, the eviction of the camps occurs in the worst month for irregular immigration across the southern border. Without the month of December ending, 276,000 irregular entries were already recorded, which is more than 8,000 more than the encounters in the month of September.
Some efforts that arrive late
Democrats are suffering due to the immigration crisis that has hit the south of the country since Biden's arrival at the White House. 2023 was a record year in terms of illegal arrivals and the border crisis has torpedoed the Democratic candidate in the polls for his re-election.
The Biden Administration is failing to address the problem with decisive measures and could continue to suffer the negative effects of public opinion as a result. According to sources close to the Biden campaign who spoke with the Washington Examiner, the immigration issue puts the Democratic president on a "tightrope" ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
While Justice blocks the immigration measures of Texas, which is suffering the worst part of the crisis, nothing seems to indicate that the number of illegal entries into the country will see any considerable decline in the coming months.
