📊 Migrants at the Border
As border apprehensions reach an all-time high, Mexicans are less represented than ever.
Welcome to Latinometrics. We bring you Latin American insights and trends through concise, thought-provoking data visualizations.
Migration 🛂
Last week, a new record was set at the international border between the United States and Mexico.
Over a quarter million migrants who had crossed the border were taken into custody by the US Border Patrol in December. This number excludes the roughly 50K expected to be processed throughout the month at official ports of entry.
This staggering statistic isn’t just higher than the remainder of 2023: it reflects the highest number of apprehensions in the history of these records being kept. And north of this border, the skyrocketing figures contribute to what many on both sides of the political aisle have termed a migration crisis stretching from border towns like El Paso to far-off metropolises such as Chicago and New York City.
But even more than the United States, this huge surge in migration represents drastic implications for Latin America. For example, one estimate has seen over 5% of the total Cuban population leaving for the United States since 2020.
Government crises, pandemic damage, and economic stagnation have all contributed to this ongoing dilemma. Asylum seekers from Haiti and Venezuela have grown in recent years alongside Ecuadorians and Peruvians fleeing their countries’ domestic security and political troubles.
Latin Americans, understandably, make up most of the arrivals to the US border, but they’re not the only ones. War-torn countries such as Ukraine have also seen large numbers of migrants to the US this year, while massive nations such as China and India continue to be the source of thousands of economic migrants.
But clearly this is an issue which most impacts Latin America: after all, US authorities intercepted more Ecuadoreans, from a country of 17M people, than Indians coming from the world’s largest country.
Interestingly, El Salvador — a country which has seen vast emigration for decades to the US — is lower than many other Central American countries, perhaps as a result of the 2019 change in government there. Meanwhile, Mexico’s position in border crossings both past and present has also shifted in recent years.
Citizens of Latin America’s northernmost country once made up nearly all of the border apprehensions, but today the country’s share has dwindled substantially. Despite the many problems Mexicans face, from growing investment to economic growth today their country has a far more positive outlook than nations like Nicaragua or Haiti.
So while discourse in the US may be dominated by mentions of Mexican cartels or Central American caravans, it’s worth noting just how much more complex the situation is at the hemispheric level. As we’ve written before, each migrant north holds immense potential for wherever they settle—but at a cost for their home country.
This can particularly be the case for countries like Peru which are today suffering the beginnings of a so-called brain drain as many young Peruvians head abroad to escape chronic instability. Like its neighbors and all countries, the Andean republic needs its brightest minds to tap into its full potential. Today, it risks losing its greatest asset: its people.
And until the conditions are right for these millions of migrants from across the region to prosper in their home countries, every nation in the Americas holds equal responsibility in ensuring their safety, security, and human rights.
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