Washington DC, United States.- Mexico and Guatemala are reinforcing their southern borders with military personnel, and Panama and Colombia are working to crack down on people-smuggling networks, following the end of a key US border policy, a US official said Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) representative Blas Núñez-Neto reported that immigration authorities have returned hundreds of people to Mexico since Title 42 expired on Thursday.
That day, Washington implemented a new asylum policy aimed at deterring illegal crossings. Returns to Mexican territory included Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, he added. Mexico has agreed to continue accepting them.
“In recent days, we have seen Mexico and Guatemala deploy large numbers of police and military personnel to their southern borders,” Núñez-Neto said.
The official added that Panama and Colombia are making an unprecedented joint effort to attack the smuggling networks (of people) that operate in the area.
Núñez-Neto explained that the United States has averaged less than 5,000 encounters per day with migrants trying to cross the border with Mexico illegally during the last three days.
That number topped 10,000 a day last week before Title 42 expired, according to DHS figures.
