Mexicans are closely watching the U. S. presidential election, especially after GOP candidate Donald Trump promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants if elected. This comes as Mexico's newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, is just starting her term. Many Mexicans have families on both sides of the border, making U. S. -Mexico relations very important to them.

Trump has been loudly complaining about illegal immigration during his campaign. He claims that migrants are causing harm, but the facts don't back him up. His running mate, JD Vance, agrees with him. They say that criminal immigrants are flooding across the border, but data from Customers and Border Protection shows that's not true. In fact, the number of people caught crossing the border is at an all-time low during President Joe Biden's time in office.

The number of people crossing the border illegally shot up under Biden, reaching 2 million per year from 2021 to 2023. Cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver were overwhelmed as newcomers looked for shelter and help. But the number dropped earlier this year, mostly because Mexico tried to slow down migrants heading to the U. S.

The rise in border crossings was mostly due to the end of a pandemic-related rule in 2022. But the numbers went down after Biden used his presidential powers to limit asylum in June. Since then, the number of people crossing the border has stayed the same.

Some experts think that if Trump wins, there might be a rush of people trying to get into the U. S. before he takes office and starts his tough border policies and mass deportations.

Even though Trump has been harsh in his talk about illegal immigration and Mexico, it's not clear who would be better for Mexico – Trump or the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris. The trade relationship between the two countries is important but tricky.

Trump has said a lot about using tariffs with Mexico, which makes many think he would be bad for Mexico. But the USMCA deal, which has been good for Mexico and helped it become the top exporter to the U. S. , was signed during Trump's time in office. Harris voted against that deal, which might not be good for future trade agreements under the USMCA if she becomes president.

It's hard to say who would be better for Mexico because there are still a lot of unknowns.

Mexico Keeps an Eye on U. S. Election

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