(NewsNation) — Mexico is stopping three times as many migrants at the southern U.S border compared to a year ago signaling increased cooperation between the two countries to counter the migrant surge.
More migrants are being stopped inside Mexico than in the U.S., with over 280,000 being intercepted in Mexico and 189,000 in the U.S. in March, reported NBC News.
The figures come as a stark increase from the 100,000 migrants Mexico stopped at its southern border or inside the county per month and the 193,000 migrants stopped by the U.S early last year, according to the outlet.
The White House is touting the numbers to illustrate the efficacy of cooperation and diplomacy with its neighbor.
Biden met with Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador late last year in order to solidify their partnership with managing the migrant crisis.
At the time, the two leaders “agreed to sustain and expand the close cooperation that they have achieved in managing migration.”
The Biden administration on Thursday launched a new rocket docket process in five cities to quickly screen and remove unqualifying migrants who cross the border seeking U.S. asylum.
The announcement came the same day as several reports that the Biden administration plans to shut down the Southwest border via an executive order if migrant encounters exceed 4,000 per day.
That figure has already been crossed several times.
The report follows U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data showing nearly 180,000 encounters in April, averaging just under 6,000 daily migrant crossings.
With the 2024 presidential election less than 172 days away, Biden is facing mounting pressure both from voters and legislators to address the border crisis.
This week, Mexico said it will help the U.S keep migrant crossings under 4,000 a day at its Southwest border.
“Migration is no longer a problem between the U.S. and Mexico. No, it is a problem that goes beyond that. We must have a regional vision because most (migrants) that pass through Mexico are not Mexicans,” Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said at Tuesday’s unveiling of the “Mexican Human Mobility” plan. “We need to have a tighter relationship, so the U.S. and Mexico jointly address migration.”
Leaders from Mexico are planning on meeting with seven “migrant expelling” countries in the Western Hemisphere to discuss lawful pathways to the United States, economic assistance, jobs in Mexico, repatriation flights and a possible loosening of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba.
Barcena attributed the migration to “failed economic models” that keep people in poverty, foster violence and have not addressed climate change that prompts people to abandon farming. She says U.S. sanctions on some countries also contribute to this.
Mexico has absorbed 40,000 foreign nationals into its labor force since 2017 and is willing to absorb more at its manufacturing plants in border cities like Juarez, Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo and others, she said.
The country is also calling on the United States to legalize 5 million Mexican citizens who have lived without authorization there for more than five years while contributing to the prosperity of the U.S. economy.
NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey, Ali Bradley, Julian Resendiz and Sandra Sanchez contributed to this report.
