On January 9, the North American Leaders’ Summit kicked off, consisting of US President Joe Biden, Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. One topic that will surely have been discussed is the current migrant humanitarian crisis along the US-Mexico border. As multiple countries across South America are experiencing instability, conflict and poverty, millions are fleeing to the USA. In 2022, the US experienced a total of 2.76 million border crossings. 

Over the last few years, US-Mexico international policy has led to several harmful and disastrous policies that have put the lives of migrants at risk. Under Trump’s administration, the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy forced thousands of asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until their US immigration court date. Asylum seekers were left in dangerous conditions that exposed them to kidnapping, sexual assault, exploitation and violence. Biden continued the policy until June 2022, after mounting pressure regarding the human rights violations that occurred under this policy. 

Unfortunately, Title 42 is another appalling policy that remains in effect. Set to end in December 2022, the Supreme Court ruled to keep it in effect just days before it was to be terminated. Title 42 clearly violates international refugee law, barring asylum claims under the guise of ‘public health’. This law has allowed US border officials to deport asylum seekers without ensuring their safety, which has led to thousands of migrants to be returned to Mexico and other South American countries where they may face risks of rape, violence, trafficking and more. 

The US policy at the border has been incredibly harmful to the lives and health of millions of migrants. However, its influence does not end at the border. While it has negotiated with Mexico to put these two policies into effect, it has also pressured Mexico to enforce its policies within the country in the hopes of stemming migration flow, at the great detriment of oncoming migrants.