The number of migrants the United States detained at its borders fell in November, according to new reporting from Reuters. An official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection shared early numbers showing CBP detained 47,000 people last month.
That’s the lowest number since July 2020, during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For people in Mexico, migration to the U.S. is a fact of life. Over the last few decades, millions of Mexicans and non-Mexicans have trekked north to the U.S.-Mexico border.
As people travel through Mexico, polls show Mexicans are increasingly upset about the rush of people from outside the country.
A poll by the United Nations’ refugee agency in Mexico found 45% of Mexicans favor some level of limits on migrants, while 32% say the government should only allow them to move quickly through the country. Moreover, 13% say Mexico should close its border entirely and deport those who come in.
A new USA Today piece highlights the growing anti-immigrant view in Mexico. Emilio Gonzalez Gonzalez, a migrant policy staffer at the U.N. agency that conducted the poll, told the paper that “among the general public, the idea of diversity hasn’t been normalized,” and that “there are stereotypes and stigmas.”
Another poll from last year by the nonprofit Oxfam found 7 out of 10 Mexicans said they believed migration into Mexico was excessive.
President-elect Donald Trump has asked Mexico to tighten its immigration enforcement as part of his effort to crack down on migration.