In a win for Mexico, the US will expand areas for migrants to apply online for entry at the southern border

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Biden administration will expand areas where migrants can apply online for appointments to enter the United States to a large swath of southern Mexico, officials said Saturday, potentially easing pressure on the Mexican government and decreasing the dangers for people trying to reach the US border to seek asylum.

Migrants will be able to schedule appointments on the CBP One app in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, stretching across northern and central Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. The measure satisfies a request from Mexico, an increasingly close partner of the US in efforts to control extraordinary migratory flows.

The change will spare migrants from traveling north through Mexico to get one of the 1,450 appointments made available daily, CBP said. The agency said this will happen soon, but did not give a date.

“We consistently engage with our partners in the Government of Mexico and work together to adjust policies and practices in response to the latest migration trends and security needs,” CBP said in a statement.

The statement confirmed statements made a day earlier by Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Bárcena, who said closer relations with the United States had drastically reduced migration since the end of last year.

US officials said increased Mexican surveillance is largely responsible for a sharp drop in U.S. arrests for illegal border crossings during the first half of this year. Mexican authorities have stepped up their presence at road checkpoints and railways leading to the US border, returning most to southern Mexico.

In June, the U.S. temporarily suspended asylum processing for those entering the country illegally, making CBP one of the only avenues for migrants to enter the U.S. seeking asylum and further reducing illegal entries. US authorities said arrests for illegal crossings fell 30% in July of the previous month to the lowest level of Joe Biden’s presidency and the lowest since September 2020.

“We managed to decompress our (northern) border in a very significant way and that helped… our relationship with the United States to be very, very dynamic and very positive,” Bárcena said on Friday.

More than 680,000 people booked CBP One appointments at eight Mexican land crossings with the U.S. from its introduction in January 2023 through June. The main nationalities are Venezuelan, Cuban and Haitian. US authorities recently limited vacancies to Mexicans due to the high number of applicants from the country.

The dangers of traveling through Mexico to be kidnapped or robbed have led many migrants to fly to northern border cities like Tijuana for their CBP One appointments once they reach the southernmost point from which they can apply – so far, Mexico City.

Migrants typically enter Mexico in Chiapas or Tabasco from Guatemala. Mexico City may offer more job opportunities and relative safety, but the cost of living is higher, leading some to live in informal camps in the country’s capital.

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Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.