Experts in the News

President-elect Biden's pick to head the Department of Health and Human services, Xavier Becerra, could signal hope for migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., said fellow Tony Payan. Payan is the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies.

President-elect Biden could reverse Trump-era executive actions on, for instance, citizenship and asylum as early as Inauguration Day, said Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico. "The bigger challenges are DACA and immigration reform."

How to explain Mexico's silence on President-elect Biden's win? Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico, said the reasons could be personal and strategic. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador "found a kindred spirit" in Trump's polarizing approach to governing and "he's sorry to see that go." At the same time, López Obrador could be wary of retaliation by Trump -- by closing the border, for instance -- should Mexico show support for the president-elect, Payan said. Under the Biden administration, Mexico "will not get a pass" as it has under Trump on energy and labor issues, Payan added. Biden "understands American interests, and I think many U.S. interests go through Mexico. The Biden administration will pursue those interests very systematically.”​​​​​​​ Payan is the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies.

“This is the calm before the storm,” said Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico. “The next three weeks are going to be crucial because the president is going to try to fulfill his commitment to the United States. There might be a state response, but if not, farmers are going to get pushed out, if not beaten, sent to the hospital or, God forbid, killed.”

The USMCA could potentially incentivize U.S. manufacturers operating in China to reopen plants or move their operations south of the border, but Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico, said that depends on an unpredictable wild card: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.