A migrant crisis and the illegal border crossing are the most acute problem for both the US and Mexico. The Mexican government’s recent measure was sending almost 15,000 soldiers and National Guard north to stem the flow of illegal immigration across the border into the US.
Luis Cresencio Sandoval, the head of Mexico’s Army, said soldiers were needed to back up migration officials. Normally, Mexico has not used to use its security forces to stop undocumented foreign citizens leaving the country for the US. That’s why Sandoval’s recent decision was criticised.
In fact, Mexico’s move came after the threat of tariffs on its exports by Donald Trump, who has made tightening border security a priority.
President Trump intends to impose initial tariffs of 5 per cent on all Mexican goods if the migrant flow is not curbed. The tariff could eventually rise as high as 25 per cent, he said. After such an announcement, Mexico head to send the additional troops to the US-Mexican border.
Mexico’s reaction to Trump’s tariff announcement
According to Mr Sandoval, about 6,500 members of the security forces were sent to Mexico’s southern border area with Guatemala.
“That’s why we’re providing support. It’s a strategy being pursued on both borders,” Sandoval explained.
Meanwhile, the former Mexican national security official Gustavo Mohar found such a development ‘sad’, saying that the country’s forces had not been used this way before. The National Guard should not be implementing migration policy, he added, while acknowledging that Mexican migration authorities were overwhelmed.
