Description of solution 1: Rethinking Asylum
Advantages
asylum seekers can make their claims in Mexico.
Disadvantages
pending litigation in the U.S. courts could interrupt the program and its expansion across the U.S.-Mexico border.
is extremely resource intensive to administer
the safe third-country agreement may be harder for Mexico, given the tiny size of Mexico’s asylum agency
Description of solution 2: Strengthening Immigration Institutions
Advantages
redoubled efforts to deport Central Americans is having a noticeable effect on the numbers of migrants reaching the U.S.-Mexico border.
redesigning border detention facilities in ways that accommodate these new realities, and giving the key agencies like the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) the resources to be able to handle families and minors.
both the United States and Mexico can also benefit from prioritizing predeparture reintegration planning for deportees
Disadvantages
Mexico’s immigration enforcement efforts have always been hampered by the poor institutionalization of INM
the ability of smugglers to subvert enforcement efforts by bribing or colluding with immigration agents.
supporting INM with elements of the National Guard, Federal Police, Army, and Navy is a stopgap rather than a long-term solution.
Description of solution 3: Create Legal Pathways for Migration
Advantages
a substantial body of evidence suggests that providing legal migration pathways reduces illegal immigration
Mexico lacks an effective employment-based visa for lower-skilled workers or a mechanism for matching potential employees from Central America with employers in the formal economy.
Disadvantages
will extend Salvadorans and Hondurans existing Border Worker Visitor Card to citizens of Guatemala and Belize
The United States currently has limited options for labor migration for Central Americans, particularly lower-skilled, other than the H-2B nonagricultural temporary worker program, which is capped, and the H-2A agricultural temporary worker program
