Mexico runs a program that transports migrants to its northern border with the United States.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has warned that the United States will soon see about 10,000 illegal immigrants per day arrive at its border with Mexico.
Such a large number of illegal immigrants are reaching Mexico’s northern border with the United States partly due to abount 6,000 illegal immigrants crossing from Guatemala into Mexico every day for the past week, President Obrador said on Oct. 2, according to The Associated Press. The Mexican president criticized U.S. sanctions on nations such as Cuba and Venezuela, two nationalities that make up a significant portion of the illegal immigrant flow.
On Sept. 29, President Obrador called on the United States to “remove blockades and stop harassing independent and free countries.” There should be “an integrated plan for cooperation so the Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, Ecuadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans wouldn’t be forced to emigrate,” he said.
He also criticized the United States’ use of funds to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and argued that some of the money sent to Ukraine should be spent on economic development in Latin America.
The Mexican president’s comments come as the country has done little to prevent migrants from getting onto trains headed to the U.S. border.
Moreover, Mexico currently runs a government program that sends buses for migrants in the southern region, transporting thousands of these people to its northern border with the United States.
In the city of Juchitán in Oaxaca state, Mexico, some migrants told Reuters that they were planning on entering the United States using the U.S. government’s CBP One app and then requesting asylum.
CBP One was launched in 2020. In January this year, the Biden administration announced new legal pathways for asylum seekers and other illegal immigrants through the app. Illegal immigrants can now schedule appointments at ports of entry or manned entry points at America’s border with Mexico through CBP One.
According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were 232,972 encounters with illegal immigrants at the southwest land border in August, up from 183,494 in July.
