Mexico's Migration Policy: What's Its Role Amid Migrant And Refugee Caravan Crisis?

Thousands of migrants and refugees from Central America — many of them women and children — are making their way to the US border in a large caravan.

The caravan has drawn considerable attention from the media and political authorities in Mexico and the US. As it has traversed from Honduras, through Guatemala, and is slowly pushing up through Mexico, it has made visible the plight of around 300,000 migrants who seek to complete the same route every year.

In this podcast episode, AS/COA's Carin Zissis speaks to Stephanie Leutert, expert on Mexican migratory policy. Throughout the conversation, they explore some of the push and pull factors involved in this controversy, and the patterns of migration from Central America more broadly.

A key thing to understand is that Mexico is no longer just a transit country. There was a seven-fold increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum there from 2014 to 2017. And as the recent election campaign made clear, it has become a crucial political issue. 

As incoming President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) made large promises to deal with Central American migration, however, he might run into the hard "wall" of political reality. Whether he is able to deliver on his promises goes beyond his campaign promises and policy proposals. It will require more dignified treatment of migrants overall, and improving governance from a risk-management perspective.