In the last week of December, approximately 10,000 people departed Tapachula, Mexico's border with Guatemala, with the aim of reaching the border between Mexico and the United States. The caravan is made up of approximately 14,000 people, standing out for the diversity of the nationalities present, such as Honduras, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, India, Syria, China, Bangladesh and several African countries, according to the publication, by Radio France Internationale (RFI). This contingent is in addition to the half a million migrants who were counted going to the United States in 2023, double the previous year.

The decision to make the crossing came after months of extreme poverty in Tapachula, where many migrants did not receive assistance from the National Migration Institute. In their demand for better living conditions, the group decided to walk. In addition, the suspension of permits to move through Mexico, carried out by the Mexican "National Institute of Migration" in September last year, contributed to a chaotic humanitarian situation. Also, according to information gathered by RFI, the Mexican state has left migrants at the mercy of organized crime, forcing them to seek the help of coyotes and human traffickers, which especially puts women and children at risk.

The progressive increase in migrants in the last months of 2023 was recognized by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. There are more than 10,000 people a day trying to cross the border into the United States, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. The growing number of people seeking to leave their territories of origin in a larger context of crises observed in contemporary Latin American countries is reflected in the complexity of the challenges surrounding the issue of migration. People who migrate seek better living conditions in the midst not only of increasingly restrictive migration policies, but also of very adverse conditions.

Against this backdrop of increased migratory flows and the need to impose increasingly restrictive policies at the border, senior White House officials visited Mexico led by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House Homeland Security Advisor  Liz Sherwood Randall. The delegation sought to discuss with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and immigration officials a joint solution to address this challenge. Other topics such as economic cooperation and security were also on the agenda of debates, suggesting the construction of a good neighbor policy between the countries.

Federal agents reported, according to RFI, that approximately 2.5 million people were apprehended trying to cross the border last year. The visit took place simultaneously with the arrival of a caravan of about 6,000 people, originating from the border with Guatemala, towards the U.S. border. President Joe Biden and López Obrador have already discussed the migration issue in a recent phone call, agreeing that urgent enforcement action would be needed to reopen the main entry points at the common border that have been closed due to the increased flow of migrants. Then, at the beginning of January, the Biden administration announced the reopening of ports of entry on the southern border of the United States, resuming operations at four ports of entry located in Eagle Pass, Texas; San Ysidro, California; Lukeville, Arizona; and Nogales, Arizona, according to NBC News.

The decision to close these ports of entry in December was made due to the decision to redirect resources to deal with the considerable increase in migrants seeking to enter the United States. Also according to NBC, during the month of December 2023, Customs and Border Protection agents encountered more than 300,000 migrants at the southern border, setting a record. On the other hand, Mexico suspended a migrant repatriation and transfer program due to lack of funds, but López Obrador expressed willingness to collaborate with the United States, requesting, however, that the Biden administration ease sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela, countries of origin of many migrants.

Against the backdrop of pre-election political battles, House Republicans have conditioned support for tougher, more concerted and coordinated policies on the southern border on a $105 billion bailout for Ukraine and Israel.  The White House has signaled a willingness to negotiate, which could entail a significant change in U.S. asylum policy as early as this month.

Also in the context of negotiations and disputes over issues of the immigration crisis, the state of Texas passed a state law (to go into effect on March 5) that makes illegal crossing a state crime, giving police authority to arrest undocumented immigrants anywhere in the state. On the other hand, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional and prevent Texas from implementing it, according to a report published by  the Texas Tribune. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Austin and names Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw.

In the field of economic cooperation, which involves not only commercial exchanges, but also strategic political interests – one of the issues discussed at the meeting of leaders between Mexico and the United States – the process of approving international bridge projects in South Texas, with the aim of boosting trade between the two countries, is accelerating after a political change sanctioned by President Joe Biden. Led by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Laredo, a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers pushed for an amendment that would set a maximum of 120 days for the president to decide whether to approve a permit for such projects. Previously, the process involved an environmental review, which could take years, before a presidential decision was made, the Texas Tribune reported. The change in policy was included in the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by Biden three days before Christmas. Cruz and Cuellar hailed the change as a "tremendous bipartisan victory for Texas." Mexican officials and Glenn Hamer, head of the Texas Business Association, also supported the move, calling it the "most significant effort to increase trade since the passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2020." This provision applies to at least three international bridges in Webb, Cameron and Maverick counties that applied for a license between December 2020 and December 2024.

"The new law also comes at a strategic time as Cruz seeks re-election and highlights bipartisan achievements in his platform. In Maverick County, the move benefits Puerto Verde's global commercial bridge project at Eagle Pass, promising to reduce wait times and bolster security. The project's developer praised the new policy as 'huge' and expects an authorization decision by the spring," according to the Texas Tribune.

Sewing anti-immigration initiatives within the states in the midst of political disputes and the migration crisis in the country, it highlights some inflection points in the Biden administration, which has been harshly criticized on several points with the consequent lag in the support of the American electorate in recent years. On Thursday (5) the U.S. government announced that it will resume the deportation of undocumented Venezuelan immigrants and rebuild the border wall, the same one proposed by former President Donald Trump. The funds that will be used in the work will be the same as those approved by the previous government. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the decision a "setback" and said it was "necessary to combat the causes of illegal migration and the wall does not solve the problem." In this context, López had already called on U.S. lawmakers to invest more in helping the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean "instead of putting barriers, barbed wire fences on the river, or thinking about building walls."

Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), stressed that this was not a change by President Joe Biden regarding the border wall that he promised not to do in his election campaign. According to the American president, the works will be resumed because the funds allocated to it in years prior to his term, which amount to about US$ 190 million (almost R$ 1 billion), have not been spent and cannot be reallocated to other programs. Biden claimed that he tried to transfer the funds, to no avail. Nonetheless, Donald Trump questioned the legitimacy of Biden's campaign promises by declaring on social media that he will "await" Biden's apology for what he has said to date about the wall. 

At this critical political juncture, Mayorkas faced the tumultuous second week of January in Congress, with House Republicans beginning impeachment efforts  against him and simultaneously engaging in intense negotiations with senators over a border package. According to an article published by The Hill, Mayorkas is the target of the ire of the Republican Party, which accuses him of intentionally disregarding the law and allowing migrants and drugs to enter the country. House Republicans began impeachment  proceedings against the secretary and a Homeland Security Committee hearing was being scheduled for subsequent days. The hearing, titled "Devastation at the Heart: How Secretary Mayorkas' Failed Leadership Impacted States," is the first in a series of the impeachment process.

DHS released a memo ahead of the hearing calling the impeachment a "baseless and senseless political attack." The department emphasized that Mayorkas is working tirelessly to address the problems at the border, collaborating with senators from both parties in search of real solutions. The possible impeachment  vote in the Senate remains uncertain, with some Republican members concerned about the negative impact it could have on other legislative issues, such as the government funding package and aid to Ukraine, according to The Hill.

Against this backdrop, Democrats and DHS take a more offensive stance, characterizing the impeachment  process as damaging and unfounded. Mayorkas, for his part, claims he remains involved in negotiations and efforts to address the issues at the border.

It is noticeable that the migration crisis in the United States involves problems that generate other new disputes and challenges. The large flow of people across borders has hit other parts of the country with new crises beyond the border with Mexico, especially in the run-up to the primary elections. One issue already covered by the Latino Observatory is the politics of Republican governors' buses that trace the fate of hundreds of migrants arriving in the country, many of them carrying children and struggling to find jobs. Big city leaders, many Democrats like Mayor Eric Adams, end up criticizing the federal government and asking for more help to deal with this moment. In early January,  the Texas Tribune filed a lawsuit against 17 bus and transportation companies that were contracted by the state of Texas to transport thousands of migrants to New York as part of Governor Greg Abbott's immigration policies. The city is seeking $708 million in damages, claiming that's the amount it spent to house the migrants. The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Eric Adams, argued that the city is willing to address the humanitarian crisis but cannot afford the costs resulting from Texas' reckless political maneuvering. He accused Governor Abbott of using migrants as "political pawns, putting politics above people." The lawsuit highlights that the companies are violating a state law by transporting migrants to New York with the intent of shifting the costs of care to the city. "The lawsuit alleges that the companies are acting in bad faith, receiving more money for their services than the cost of a one-time ticket from Texas to New York on a regular bus. Public reports indicate that companies receive about $1,650 per person on charter buses, compared to $291 for a one-way ticket. Since April 2022, Governor Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to send migrants to Democratic-led cities that he describes as "sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants." As of December, more than 82,000 people have been transported by bus to various U.S. cities, including Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.

The lack of a solution to the migration crisis means that this issue monopolizes the political debate, especially in view of the 2024 elections added to the declining approval of President Joe Biden. The current functional crisis of the U.S. political system fails to offer a medium- and long-term solution. The political-partisan conflicts, added to the inability of coordination within and between bordering countries in the current conjuncture, make it even more difficult to find solutions not only to the problems of origin of migratory flows, but also to the proper reception of this contingent of people who seek better living conditions.