Trump's Remain in Mexico Policy

Jonathan Blitzer at The New Yorker takes a look at the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, whereby asylum seekers would have to stay in Mexico as they waited to hear about their asylum case, which could be years. In particular, he interviews Mexican officials and former U.S. officials, both of whom say it is unworkable.

First, migrants will enter the United States illegally anyway, particularly because staying in Mexico is not doable for economic and/or crime reasons. Central American migrants are targeted in Mexico.

Second, Trump might counter that a wall would prevent all those people from crossing illegally. That is a pipe dream but even if served as some level of deterrent it would result in instability in Mexican border cities, which would then disrupt the economies of their U.S. counterparts. "Remain in Mexico" really means "Remain in Border Cities." Many in Tijuana are already unhappy.

Third, U.S.-Mexican relations will become more strained unnecessarily. From the narrow perspective of U.S. interests, this has the potential for souring other areas, such as counternarcotics. This is even more problematic if AMLO starts to feel cornered.

There is nothing good about this policy.

Update: AMLO is going to help, at least temporarily. This is a risky move for him.