‘In the end it comes down to creating legal pathways’ Migrant surge will persist until the US addresses its root causes, Mexican diplomat warns

MEXICO CITY – The recent surge in migrants at the U.s.-mexico border is a “gigantic” problem that will persist until the U.S. creates legal pathways and, with other countries, addresses the root causes that force people to leave their homelands, Mexico’s top diplomat for North American affairs warned in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

“In the end it comes down to creating legal pathways,” said Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s chief of the North America bureau at the Mexican Foreign Ministry.

“You need more legal temporary pathways to depressurize the situation on our borders,” he said, referring to Mexico’s southern and northern border. “And you need more foreign investments to help alleviate poverty, the root cause of migration that leads to desperation and problems like violence and insecurity.

“Until we do that, we will see ongoing, seasonal spikes.”

Under new U.S. immigration rules established last May, the main legal pathway for asylum-seekers on the border is through a mobile app called CBP One. The U.S. is trying to alleviate crowding at the border by requiring migrants to use the app to secure an appointment with Border Patrol before entering the U.S.

“CBP One is not a bad idea – it is not,” Velasco said. But he stressed the app is not enough.

The issue is not a “onepolicy solution” but “multidimensional,” he said.

“Why are you not seeing big migration spikes from

Panama or Costa Rica?” he asked. “Because their countries are stable. Their economies are growing. They’re doing well. They have access to basic needs. So why Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela? Because there is poverty, organized crime, violence and a number of other factors. We need to tackle the root causes.”

Velasco’s insights have been underscored by several think tanks and independent migration experts, including Rene Zenteno, a demographics professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Zenteno has been following migration trends in Mexico for more than two decades.

“What we’re seeing in Latin America is unprecedented, and part of a global problem. We haven’t seen such a crisis of poverty, lack of economic development, failed governments, a rise of authoritarian governments, violence,” Zenteno said.

“Mexico has been a good partner, but this is beyond Mexico and the Biden administration. There needs to be a smart humanitarian solution on the part of the entire U.S. government that begins with comprehensive immigration reform. Problem is, from a political standpoint, I don’t see a political will in the U.S. Congress.”

Texas’ top trading partner

Mexico is Texas’ top trading partner, he said.

It’s in the best interest of both the state and Mexico to find “more productive” ways to work together, Velasco said.

This year, Mexico, which has the 14th largest economy in the world, surpassed China as the top

U.S. trading partner with bilateral trade during the first four months of the year totaling $263 billion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Velasco’s boss, Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena, has called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s deployment of buoy barriers on the Rio Grande a violation of water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, further straining an already tense relationship.

“We understand elections and politics, but there needs to be limits, redlines,” Velasco said.

“For us, those redlines are sovereignty, international law and respect for the human rights of migrants.

“We have expressed our views candidly regarding the actions of Gov. Abbott through our office and diplomatic notes,” he said. “We remain firm and committed to our position. Is this how you treat your leading trading partner? We respectfully urge Gov. Abbott to be mindful of those redlines.”

‘No man’s land’

This week, the number of migrants arriving in Ciudad Juárez and waiting by the border appears to have fallen, at least for now.

Previously, in recent weeks, hundreds of migrants camped out nightly just north of the

Rio Grande. They stayed near the border wall in an area known to migrants and residents as ‘”no man’s land,” with the hope of surrendering to Border Patrol agents.

The middle of the Rio Grande is considered the international boundary. By staying near the border wall, migrants said they hoped to avoid the reach of organized crime, as gangs have fought to control drug and human smuggling routes.