Mexico’s government is raising concerns that the Biden administration’s immigration policies are incentivizing illegal immigration and organized crime, a new report revealed.
The Wednesday report from Reuters outlined concerns from Mexican officials over the new president’s immigration policies as apprehensions at the southern border hit a 15-year high in February.
Specifically, Mexico is concerned about the policies that have broadened support for migrants who are gang and violence victims as well as the easing of the legalization process.
Mexican officials are also concerned about Biden rolling back President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. such as the policy that deported detained migrants to Central America.
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The report also revealed that the gangs involved in facilitating illegal immigration are looking at the policies “incentiviz[ing] migration” and adjusting their modus operandi for smuggling accordingly.
A Mexican official speaking anonymously told Reuters that the way organized crime was conducted in the country changed “from the day Biden took office.”
“Migrants have become a commodity,” the official told Reuters, saying that migrants are now valued as highly as illicit narcotics.
“But if a packet of drugs is lost in the sea, it’s gone,” continued the official. “If migrants are lost, it’s human beings we’re talking about.”
They also warned that the groups were operating with “unprecedented” tact.
The criminals are reportedly using travel agencies as a cover for their operations and avoiding detection from officials by using new tech. They also keep clients in the loop about changes to U.S. immigration law.
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The official revealed that, to avoid detection, migrants are traveling in smaller groups – as opposed to caravans as before – along less-used and more dangerous routes.
They also said that smugglers use social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to keep clients up to date on checkpoints, transportation and how to skirt immigration laws.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a March 1 virtual meeting with Biden that many of the people attempting to enter the U.S. illegally see Biden as “the migrant president” and that “so many feel” they’ll reach America.
“We need to work together to regulate the flow, because this business can’t be tackled from one day to the next,” Obrador added.
According to assessments obtained by Reuters, migrants are still being told to bring children with them to the border to make it easier to apply for asylum. Additionally, the coyotes and other smugglers are telling migrants from Central America to tell asylum officials they are victims of extortion.
The smugglers also tell young men specifically to say they are the targets of gang death threats.
Another assessment reported by Reuters found that recent Mexican policies are spurring migrants to the U.S. Some measures potentially incentivized people to migrate, such as increased protections of child migrants and free COVID-19 vaccines.
The costs for smugglers depends on many variants – Mexican intelligence assessments say that a minor attempting to travel alone to the U.S. from Central America would cost over $3,000. The rates for African and Asian migrants are much higher.
A Mexican intelligence evaluation that was reported warned that there could be another large influx of migrants as COVID-19 restrictions lift – this time from outside the region.
The number of people arrested and detained while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexican border illegally has drastically risen since Biden took office in January.
Since his inauguration, the 46th president has worked hard to reverse many of his predecessor’s immigration policies, including the policy that sent migrants to Mexico to await their immigration hearings and suspending the construction of Trump’s border wall.
Most illegal migrants travel to the U.S. from Central America, where they are trying to find relief from the humanitarian crisis plaguing the region.
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Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to Fox News’ requests for comment.
The report comes as the U.S. sees a massive surge of migrants at the southern border that has the Department of Homeland Security asking for volunteers to help with the crisis.