Developments
Mexico filed an amicus curiae brief in federal court in support of the ongoing challenge to Texas’s state immigration law, S.B. 4. The brief argues that the law, which would allow state law enforcement to arrest, imprison, or deport people suspected of crossing the border improperly, would do significant harm to Mexican citizens living in Texas.
- “Brief of Amicus Curiae the Government of the United Mexican States in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees and Affirmance of the District Court’s Preliminary Injunction Order” (Government of Mexico, United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit, March 21, 2024).
- Devan Cole, Ivonne Valdes, Sahar Akbarzai, “Mexico Warns Us Court of ‘Substantial Tension’ if Controversial Texas Immigration Law Takes Effect” (CNN, March 21, 2024).
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena told the Washington Post that her government would place “increased vigilance and controls” along the Texas border to prevent Texas state authorities from carrying out their own deportations without Mexico’s permission.
- Mary Beth Sheridan, “Mexico, a Key U.S. Ally on Migration, Pushes Back Hard on Texas Law” (The Washington Post, March 21, 2024).
Across Texas’s 254 counties, sheriffs are unclear about how they are meant to enforce S.B. 4 if courts give the strict law a green light, the Associated Press reported. “If we start going and talking to everybody and asking for papers, where do we stop?” asked the president of the Texas Sheriff’s Association.
- Erik Verduzco, Sean Murphy, “Law Enforcement Officials in Texas Wonder How They Will Enforce Migrant Arrest Law” (Associated Press, Associated Press, March 21, 2024).
- Alejandro Serrano, “Enforcing Texas’ New Immigration Law May Be Challenging, Even for Authorities That Support It” (The Texas Tribune, March 21, 2024).
- Michael Gonzalez, “‘Havoc and Harm’: Prospect of Migrant Law Sows Fear in Texas Border Town” (The Guardian (Uk), March 21, 2024).
- Anna-Catherine Brigida, “A Lot Has Swirled Around Senate Bill 4. Here’s Where It Stands Currently.” (Houston Landing, March 21, 2024).
In El Paso, a group of migrants on the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande pushed their way past Texas state National Guard personnel blocking access to the border wall, where they hoped to turn themselves in to federal Border Patrol agents. Video showed a chaotic scene.
- Blanca Carmona, Veronica Martinez, “¡Que Nos Dejen Entrar a Trabajar! Suplican Migrantes Mientras ee.uu Debate Nueva Ley Antimigrante de Texas” (La Verdad (Ciudad Juarez Mexico), March 21, 2024).
- Jesus Estrada, “Con Golpes e Intimidaciones, Texas Impide Cruce Masivo de Migrantes” (La Jornada (Mexico), March 21, 2024).
- Fernie Ortiz, “Hundreds of Migrants Gather at Border Wall as Court Debates sb4” (Border Report, March 21, 2024).
- Julian Resendiz, “Altercation Between Migrants, National Guard Caught on Camera” (Border Report, March 21, 2024).
- Martin Coronado, “Migrants Camp at Mexico Border Amid Chaos Caused by Texas sb4 Law” (EFE, La Prensa Latina, March 21, 2024).
- Jennie Taer, Megan Palin, “Over 100 Migrants Break Through Razor Wire, Knock Down Guards as They Illegally Cross el Paso Border in Wild Scene” (The New York Post, March 21, 2024).
S.B. 4 is “not going to stop us from doing our job,” Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said in a CBS News interview, adding that there is “no better partner for the Border Patrol than the Texas Department of Public Safety.” Owens called for “jail time” for more migrants who cross the border between ports of entry, and cited a “need to take a look at the asylum laws and make it where only people that have a legitimate claim can claim asylum.”
- Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “Border Patrol Chief Says Tougher Policies Are Needed to Deter Migrants From Entering U.S. Illegally” (CBS News, March 21, 2024).
CBP released body-worn camera footage of the February 17 death, apparently by suicide, of a man in a holding cell at a Laredo, Texas checkpoint. The footage does not show the exact circumstances of how the man died because “the video recording system at the Border Patrol checkpoint was not fully functioning at the time of the incident.”
- “Cbp Releases Body-Worn Camera Footage From Man Found Unresponsive in Laredo, Texas I-35 Checkpoint Detention Cell” (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, March 21, 2024).
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was in Guatemala. With President Bernardo Arévalo, the Secretary reviewed nine topics including migration. The migration talks focused on information sharing and “coordinated operational plans” against smugglers.
- Oscar Garcia Efe Afp, “Mayorkas y Arevalo se Reunen en Guatemala para Llegar a Acuerdos en Seguridad, Migracion Irregular y Otros Desafios” (Prensa Libre (Guatemala), March 21, 2024).
Arévalo will be in Washington Monday, where he will meet Vice President Kamala Harris. Mayorkas noted that the “Safe Mobility Office” established in Guatemala in mid-2023 has “already helped more than 1,500 Guatemalans safely and lawfully enter the United States” via legal pathways.
- “Secretary Mayorkas Delivers Remarks at a Press Conference in Guatemala” (Department of Homeland Security, March 21, 2024).
Speaking to Guatemala’s Prensa Libre, Assistant DHS Secretary for Border Policy and Migration Blas Nunez-Neto said that organized crime has taken over the migrant smuggling business all along the U.S.-bound route: “The cartels that previously had no direct participation in the movement of people in an irregular manner are increasingly controlling these flows.”
- Fatima Najarro, “Departamento de Seguridad: Carteles Estan Ligados al Trafico de Personas” (Prensa Libre (Guatemala), March 21, 2024).
So far in 2024, the U.S. and Mexican governments have deported 20,018 citizens of Guatemala back to their country by air, more than 5,000 above the total at the same time in 2023. The United States has returned 18,437 people on 154 flights, while Mexico has returned 1,632 on 15 flights.
- “EE.UU. Y Mexico Han Deportado Mas de 20.000 Guatemaltecos en Lo Que Va de 2024” (EFE, Yahoo!, March 21, 2024).
Mexico’s government reached an agreement with Venezuela’s government to facilitate aerial deportations of Venezuelan citizens back to Caracas. As part of the deal, some of Mexico’s largest corporations, would employ Venezuelan deportees, paying them a “stipend” of US$110 per month for a six-month period. “We’re sending Venezuelans back to their country because we really cannot handle these quantities,” said Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena.
- Maya Averbuch, “Mexico to Offer Venezuelans Jobs, $660 Stipend to Return Home” (Bloomberg, March 21, 2024).
- “Mexico Agrees With Venezuela to Send Back Migrants” (Agence France Presse, Barron’s, March 21, 2024).
- Ana Isabel Martinez, “Mexico Reaches Agreement With Venezuela to Deport Migrants” (Reuters, Reuters, March 21, 2024).
Criminals have kidnapped a group of 95 Ecuadorian migrants in the Pacific coastal region of Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state.
- IsaÍn Mandujano, “Denuncian el Plagio de 95 Migrantes en la Frontera Con Chiapas” (Proceso (Mexico), March 21, 2024).
- Jhonatan Gonzalez, “Despliegan Operativo para Ecuatorianos Secuestrados en Chiapas” (Milenio (Mexico), March 21, 2024).
Federal authorities arrested a historic leader of the MS-13 gang at the San Ysidro port of entry south of San Diego on March 7.
- Richard Winton, “Ms-13 Leader, One of Fbi’s Most Wanted Fugitives, Arrested at California-Mexico Border” (The Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2024).
On the Right
- Joe Earley, “Securing the Border: America’s Priority Number One” (The American Conservative, March 22, 2024).
- Greg Sindelar, Troy Nehls, “Venezuela Won’t Take Its Criminals Back. So Why Does Biden Keep Taking Them?” (The Hill, March 21, 2024).