It’s been said that the United States’ southern border extends to where Mexico meets Guatemala. Mexico has long been complicit in the violence committed against Central Americans. For years, Mexico has deported more Central Americans than the United States. However, as the United States’ immigration machine has become increasingly harsher under President Donald Trump, journalist Jorge Ramos spoke out over the weekend about how Mexico continues to support the US’ cruel policies.
Responding to an AFP Mexico photo that shows Mexican National Guard members physically keeping Central American immigrants from reaching the US-Mexico border, Ramos tweeted: “And this is how Mexico is becoming the immigration police for Trump and a waiting room for the US.”
While Ramos is far from the first one to note Mexico’s role in what’s currently happening to Central Americans crossing the border, he is someone in our community who has a sizable platform.
In order to stave off Trump’s tariffs threats, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Trump reached an agreement on June 7 aimed at reducing the number of immigrants coming in from Central America into the United States. According to the deal, Mexico would deploy 6,000 National Guard members to the southern Mexican border to keep Central Americans from entering Mexico, and therefore, the United States.
Luis Sandoval, Mexico’s secretary of defense, said that the country has ‘deployed a total of almost 15,000 troops composed of National Guard elements and military units,” to the US-Mexico border. Though, as The New York Times reports, Mexico has only send a “fraction of the stipulated 6,000 National Guard members,” the country is not only cooperating with the United States, it’s also doing a lot of its dirty work.