Experts in the News

The high number of single adults crossing the U.S.-Mexico border could indicate a shift in migration patterns away from those seeking political asylum to those interested in economic opportunities, said fellow Tony Payan.

“At the end of the day, getting back together will give the right impression,” said U.S.-Mexico Center director Tony Payan as President Biden convened a meeting Thursday with the leaders of Canada and Mexico. “The bad news is that the issues are many and thorny.”

A 10,000-strong migrant caravan appears to be headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border on Nov. 18 — the same day President Biden is scheduled to meet with Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to talk about immigration, among other things. “It seems to me that Mexico is using the caravans as leverage [against] the United States," said Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico. Payan explained why the timing could be more than coincidence.

The goal of President Biden's immigration plan is not to just push people back to the other side of the fence, but to "spread the burden to countries that serve as transit points like Mexico and Guatemala," said Tony Payan, the director of the Center for the United States and Mexico. "If they stop, detain, contain migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, it is too late; the problem is already at our doorstep.”

The situation at the U.S.-Mexico border is improving as the Biden administration overcomes a border learning curve, said Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico. "Those who were waiting in Mexico are being let in, the flow is less, and the deportees are being processed more efficiently."