U.S., Mexican Officials Brace for Migrants Fleeing Inflation



by RANDY CLARK 18 Mar 2022

Economic hardship is hardly a new root cause for the exodus of Central American countries — but new data indicate that inflation will worsen the existing migrant crisis at the U.S. border. American and Mexican officials are actively preparing for the inflation-driven surge expected in the coming months.

Officials from both countries discussed their concerns about rising food and energy prices with regard to irregular migration, according to a Bloomberg report. Inflation is hot well beyond U.S. borders and is keenly felt in Central American nations.

In February, Honduras and El Salvador saw the fastest consumer price increases since 2014 and 2011, respectively. Inflation in Mexico was 7.3% in February, near the two-decade high reached in November, according to Bloomberg.

A White House official confirmed to Bloomberg the issue of inflation was discussed during a recent trip by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to Mexico and Costa Rica earlier this week. Officials involved in the talks believe inflation will be the impetus for an additional wave of migration.

As part of the talks, Mexico is urging President Joe Biden to prepare to remove migrants directly into their home countries. The plan, in the Mexican government’s opinion, would help to discourage migrants entirely.

The United States is still heavily reliant on the CDC’s emergency Title 42 authority to quickly expel some Central American migrants to Mexico. The order allows DHS to expel the migrants without entertaining time-consuming asylum petitions.

U.S., Mexican Officials Brace for Migrants Fleeing Inflation (breitbart.com)