Mexico

While Mexico is still characterized by high levels of emigration, and in the last two decades also increasingly as a transit country for migrants to the United States, immigration has increased significantly in recent years. In 2013, Mexico received more than 60,700 permanent immigrants, almost three times more than the average of the previous three years. Although temporary immigration has decreased, particularly compared to 2012, total immigration to the country in 2013 was around 65% higher than the previous year.

The foreign-born population has increased in recent years, although it remains below one percent of the total population in 2013.

Regular migration of Mexicans to the United States has continued to increase and in 2012 was 13% higher than in 2010. In contrast, estimates of undocumented migration show a significant decline in the number of Mexicans entering the United States from crisis, while the number of undocumented Mexicans decreased by approximately one million between 2007 and 2012, according to estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center.

The recovery of the United States economy is undoubtedly related to the positive results of the insertion of Mexican migrants in the labor market of the OECD countries in general, considering that more than 85% of Mexican emigrants reside in the United States. Joined. The unemployment rate for Mexican workers in the United States and Europe decreased by around two percentage points between the 2010-2011 period and the 2012-2013 period, registering the decrease for both men and women.

Between 2012 and 2013, Mexico has registered a 60% increase in the number of applications for refuge and complementary protection, with 1,296 applications registered in 2013. Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba are the countries of origin of the majority of applicants. . In 2013, there were 1,831 refugees living in Mexico, most of them of Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Honduran origin.

Mexico continues to be the largest recipient of remittances in Latin America, in absolute terms, and in 2013 they reached an amount of 21.6 billion dollars (approximately 2% of the Gross Domestic Product) coming predominantly from the United States. However, the amount of remittances decreased around -3.8% compared to 2012.

The National Development Plan 2013-2018 of the current administration includes among its programmatic instruments the first Special Migration Program 2014-2018 . The purpose of the state program is to consolidate a comprehensive, intersectoral and participatory migration policy, based on the promotion of human rights, sustainable development, gender equity, interculturality and human security.

The program proposes an articulation of public policies that promote the exercise of rights and freedoms of migrants in an environment favorable to their social integration in conditions of equality and appreciation of their contributions to culture and development, while strengthening the capacities of the three levels of government and civil organizations to build optimal mechanisms for the governance of migrations and processes of dialogue and international cooperation are promoted.

From 2008 to 2013, more than 16,000 Mexicans have left Spain and returned to Mexico, according to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. Between 2010 and 2013, more than a million and a half Mexican migrants have been repatriated by US authorities, according to figures from the Mexican government. Since 2014, the government, through the National Migration Institute, has implemented the Somos Mexicanos program , which expands the scope of the Human Repatriation Program, which has been in place since 2007, by addressing the immediate needs of repatriated nationals, providing them with information, guidance, food, shelter, medical care, means of communication with their families, transportation and facilities to return to their communities of origin, as well as opportunities labor and social reintegration.

For its part, the Paisano Program , established in 1989, is a program that supports Mexican migrants who temporarily visit the country, in relation to their information needs during their entry, transit and exit from Mexico. Paisano facilitates immigration and customs administrative processes, the importation of vehicles and health regulations, in addition to assisting consular functions abroad through information to obtain, renew and apostill documents.

At the beginning of 2014, the Mexican government launched the Southern Border Program , which seeks to improve the access of migrants from Guatemala and Belize to regular migration channels by facilitating the process to obtain the Border Worker (TVTF) and Visitor cards. Regionale (TVR), in addition to inter-institutional actions on the protection of migrants, combating organized crime, social crime prevention and access to public and social services.

Within the framework of the Pacific Alliance, in November 2012, Mexico announced the abolition of visas for nationals of Colombia and Peru as a requirement to enter its territory, for periods of up to six months, as long as the activities they carry out are of an unpaid type, such as tourist, transit, or business travel.

As of May 2013, Brazilian nationals visiting the country for those purposes (tourist, transit, or business) are also exempt from the Mexican visa requirement.