US and Mexico Will Boost Deportation Flights and Enforcement to Crack Down on Illegal Migration

President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are moving swiftly on new steps to crack down on illegal migration that include tougher enforcement on railways, on buses and in airports as well as increased repatriation flights for migrants from both the U.S. and Mexico.

The two leaders previewed the measures in a statement following a call on Sunday, which centered on their joint efforts to “effectively manage” migration and the U.S.-Mexico border. {snip}

John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesman, said the U.S. and Mexico will increase enforcement measures that would prevent major modes of transportation from being used to facilitate illegal migration to the border, as well as the number of repatriation flights that would return migrants to their home countries. {snip}

Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have actually declined in recent months, countering the usual seasonal trends that show migration tends to climb as weather conditions improve. U.S. officials have credited Mexican authorities, who have expanded their own enforcement efforts, for the decrease.

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The fresh steps come as Biden deliberates whether to take executive action that would further crack down on the number of migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border.

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The Mexican leader said the two countries have made progress in controlling unauthorized migration by persuading many migrants not to use illegal methods to move from country to country. López Obrador also applauded a January decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed Border Patrol agents to resume cutting razor wire that Texas had installed along the border to try to deter migration.