The office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations (UN) presented the Interactive Dashboard of Statistics on Mobility and International Migration in Mexico at a press conference, providing information on migration dynamics in the country. Jeremy MacGillivray, the IOM's deputy representative in Mexico, stated that it is part of the effort to provide timely, accurate, and accessible data on human mobility in the region to those shaping migration narratives.
The official explained that the region's migration dynamics still show evidence of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Latin American countries. During the implementation of Title 42, there was a high number of accelerated expulsions from the United States to Mexico or countries of origin.
In addition to the pandemic's impact, he added, electoral processes also influence migration. In this case, it cannot be predicted whether the number of people in mobility will increase or decrease due to the electoral process in the United States, but it will surely affect it. He assured that the application of mechanisms like CBP One, through which people can send their information in advance to the US government, is also evident in migrant numbers, routes, and places of temporary stay.
The IOM's 2023 Annual Bulletin of Migration Statistics for Mexico details that in 2023, there were 782,176 events of people in irregular migration situations in the country. This made 2023 the year with the highest number of events of people in irregular migration situations recorded in Mexico. There was also an increase in migration levels from South America, from 1% of all events recorded in the first quarter of 2021 to 44% in the last quarter of 2023. This was due to increased migration from nationals of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil.
Regarding the electoral process in Mexico, it is considered that migration is not one of the dominant topics in the presidential contest in this country, as it is in the United States. However, the United Nations System, through its coordination in Mexico, offered to meet with the two candidates and the candidate to discuss issues monitored by UN agencies. In this sense, the IOM participated in one of the working groups of the initiative called "Dialogues for Transformation" with the team of candidate Claudia Sheinbaum.
The IOM's deputy representative, referring to the European Parliament's approval of the Migration Pact on April 10, emphasized that migration is a global challenge, so considerable efforts should be made to achieve humane solutions for migrant people.
The interactive dashboard is a product of the international agency's collaboration with the Unit of Migration Policy, Registration, and Identity of Persons of the Ministry of the Interior. The data comes from official sources of the Mexican government, and the dashboard is hosted on government servers. This tool also integrates figures from complementary sources, including those from the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which tracks encounters at the US southern border. The dashboard can be found at: https://portales.segob.gob.mx/es/PoliticaMigratoria/tablero_estadistica.