Mexican Migration Could Be the First Crisis of 2021
The pandemic has worsened all the factors driving migrants north, not least from Mexico.
The pandemic could restart Mexicans’ journey north.
Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images North AmericaSince 2017, more than one million Central Americans have made their way to the U.S. southwestern border, triggering a disjointed but brutal crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump. Although the combination of tighter border controls and the coronavirus has reduced these flows, they will resume when the Covid-19 lockdowns lift.
Only this time, Mexicans are likely to join the exodus. The resulting tensions could destabilize one of the world’s most tightly woven bilateral relationships, jeopardizing cooperation on everything from counternarcotics to water rights and the prosperity that closer ties have underpinned on both sides of the border.