Ana Elizabeth Melgar made four attempts before finally reaching the U.S. border in Piedras Negras, Mexico.
Every time she traveled north, Mexican immigration authorities apprehended her and transported her back south, not to her native El Salvador, but to a city in southern Mexico.
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- 1 Mexico cracks down on migrants: ‘more checkpoints, more buses’
- 2 Texas border czar says ‘tactical infrastructure’ deters crossings
- 3 ‘Cold, heat, hunger, thirst’
- 4 How long will Mexican enforcement last?
“If you catch me as a migrant, please send me back to my country,” she expressed, as she took a moment to rest in a Catholic shelter situated in this Mexican border town, opposite Eagle Pass, Texas. “I understand that I don’t belong here, but the idea of sending me further south into Mexico doesn’t make any sense. It’s simply illogical.”
The Biden administration and Texas are attributing an uncommon decrease in illegal border crossings to their respective efforts. The White House highlights legal pathways, while Governor Greg Abbott emphasizes the presence of troops and concertina wire. However, analysts, immigrant advocates, and migrants themselves point out that Mexico is the one obstructing the route to the north.
Mexico’s President Andrรฉs Manuel Lรณpez Obrador has implemented a bus program to deter migrants from reaching the U.S. border. The program aims to either hinder their chances of reaching the border or delay their arrival by intercepting them on highways, train routes, and airports and transporting them to the southernmost region of Mexico.
According to immigrant advocates, the policy is pushing vulnerable individuals into the hands of smugglers. Migrants have shared their experiences of being extorted while traveling north, only to be stopped at checkpoints and sent back to southern Mexico, forcing them to repeat the entire journey.
“The Mexican government is playing a game of cat and mouse with the people,” commented Andrew Selee, the executive director of the Migration Policy Institute based in Washington, D.C.
“The decline in numbers is not attributable to busing in Texas,” he explained. “Instead, the decrease can be attributed to busing in Mexico.”
According to congressional testimony, the number of migrant encounters reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in March was slightly lower than in February, with fewer than 189,372 encounters recorded. This is noteworthy considering that this period is usually when migration numbers start to rise. Additionally, encounters remained lower than expected during the first 10 days of April.
According to Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for the Washington Office on Latin America, the drop in encounters from February to March is unusual and goes against historical, seasonal trends. In fact, Isacson highlights that this is only the second time this century that encounters have declined during this time period.
Mexico cracks down on migrants: ‘more checkpoints, more buses’
Analysts suggest that the busing program is a direct response to the increasing number of migrants coming from Venezuela and other countries. Similar to the United States, Mexico faces challenges in facilitating the return of individuals from these nations. Despite requests for comment, the Mexican foreign ministry, interior ministry, and immigration agency, the Instituto Nacional de Migraciรณn, have not provided any response.
The impact of Mexico’s crackdown on immigration is clearly seen in the increase of migrant encounters where individuals are detained or taken to shelters, but not immediately deported.
According to Mexico’s interior ministry, the number of encounters with migrants has significantly increased over the years. In 2023, there were over 726,000 encounters, compared to less than 179,000 in 2021. The data for January and February alone shows that Mexico reported more than 230,000 encounters, where migrants were detained or placed in shelters before being released.
Melgar was one of the individuals who participated in the event.
Sitting alone on a courtyard bench, she smiled, basking in the accomplishment of finally making it to the U.S. border after more than four months of effort, while migrants around her went about their business or enjoyed their breakfast at the shelter.
While Melgar took a break, Sister Isabel Turcios, the nun in charge, took a group of American women on a tour. In the courtyard, medical volunteers established an outdoor clinic. According to Turcios, there were only 108 migrants being sheltered that day, a significant decrease compared to last year.
In December, Piedras Negras and other areas just south of the border experienced a daily influx of thousands of people. During that month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded its highest-ever one-month count of migrant encounters on the U.S. side, reaching a total of 301,981.
In the same month, President Biden and President Lรณpez Obrador had a phone call where they discussed the need for “additional enforcement actions.” Following the conversation, President Biden sent a team of negotiators to Mexico City at a high level to address this matter.
The number of checkpoints had increased significantly by mid-April.
According to Turcios’ conversations with migrants, there were at least six immigration checkpoints established by Mexican authorities along the route from Monterrey to the border at Piedras Negras. Even for Turcios, a nun from El Salvador, traveling overland had become burdensome.
According to her, the authorities convened and made a decision: they would increase the number of checkpoints and provide more buses to transport the migrants south. As a result of these measures, the numbers of migrants began to decrease. This was both due to the increased efforts in capturing them and the transportation arrangements put in place.
According to the speaker, the decrease in numbers in Texas cannot be attributed to the presence of barbed wire. She states that migrants who manage to navigate through Mexico’s checkpoints continue to find ways to pass under the wire.
Texas border czar says ‘tactical infrastructure’ deters crossings
On that very day, just across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Mike Banks, the state’s inaugural “border czar,” ascended the sloped river bank to address his troops in Shelby Park. This city park has emerged as the epicenter of Texas’ public confrontation with the Biden administration regarding border enforcement.
Banks confidently navigated through the dense barricades of concertina wire, occasionally getting grazed in the process.
Migrant crossings in Texas experienced a more significant decline in the first quarter of the year compared to the overall border, as per CBP statistics. Conversely, California witnessed an increase in crossings during the same period.
According to a spokesperson from the governor’s office, several Republican-led states have contributed to the efforts of Operation Lone Star by sending troops or law enforcement officers. In total, 16 states have provided support for this operation.
The state has also made efforts to spread the border crisis throughout the country: Abbott’s Operation Lone Star has transported over 112,700 migrants to cities led by Democrats across the nation.
Migrants in Texas are provided with the option of bus rides and can choose to go voluntarily. However, in Mexico, authorities do not give them any choice in the matter.
During his recent visit to Eagle Pass, Banks, who advises the governor, engaged in conversation with a group of camouflage-clad agents from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He shared lighthearted banter with a group of Texas highway patrolmen as they sought respite from the scorching heat in a shade tent where two stray dogs lazily snoozed.
Two Honduran men, who had previously been at Turcios’ shelter, were quietly wading along the U.S. bank of the river. Their intention was to find a suitable spot to climb up through the concertina wire.
‘Cold, heat, hunger, thirst’
For years, Melgar, a mother of three, supported her family by working as a seamstress in Costa Rica. It was a way for her to earn money that she couldn’t make in El Salvador.
After experiencing a decline in job opportunities, she made the decision to return to her home country. However, in December, the mounting pressure to fund her children’s education compelled her to leave for Mexico, with the ultimate goal of reaching the United States.
Melgar recounted that she was initially apprehended by Mexican immigration agents dressed in their distinctive brown uniforms while she was in the historic city of Puebla, located in the southern region of Mexico.
They caught up with her again in the northern factory town of Torreon.
In Monterrey, a prosperous business hub south of Texas, they finally apprehended her on the third attempt.
She said that every time, she would be transported back to a migrant detention center in southern Mexico, where she would be held for a few days before being released.
After multiple failed attempts, she finally managed to evade several Mexican checkpoints by hitching a ride on a cargo train and trekking through the arid desert for miles. She endured days and nights filled with extreme cold, scorching heat, persistent hunger, and unquenchable thirst.
“I’m eagerly awaiting,” she mentioned in a WhatsApp message just last week, while still residing at the shelter. “With God’s blessings, it will arrive soon.”
How long will Mexican enforcement last?
Mexico’s usual immigration crackdowns are typically temporary, but the current one has lasted longer than usual.
The number of migrants arriving in Ciudad Juรกrez, located across from El Paso, Texas, has been steadily increasing in recent days, leading to a rise in tension at this particular border crossing.
Earlier this month, over 140 migrants managed to breach the concertina wire on the El Paso side of the Rio Grande and came face-to-face with Texas troops. According to the district attorney, the local grand jury has indicted the migrants on charges of participating in a misdemeanor riot.
Last week, a cargo train arrived in Ciudad Juรกrez from the outskirts of Mexico City. Surprisingly, the train was carrying hundreds of men, women, and children on its boxcars. Interestingly, the military and immigration checkpoint outside the city allowed the train to pass without any interference.
Adults clung onto the children tightly or shielded them with blankets as the train gradually came to a halt. Once the migrants disembarked, several blocks away from the U.S. border, they pondered their next course of action.
