Foreign Affairs - 11.2019 - 12.2019

Nowhere to Go

November/December 2019 123

the same underlying set o problems. To avoid the kind o human and

political toll that the migration crisis produced in Europe, political

leaders and policymakers must treat this new situation holistically and

learn from past examples. Already, policymakers in the United States

and elsewhere in the Americas are repeating European mistakes.

So far this year, the U.S. Border Patrol has apprehended over

800,000 people at the southern border—the highest number in over a

decade. The previous peak in apprehensions occurred in 2000 and re-

sulted mainly from “pull” factors, namely, the high demand for cheap

labor. Today’s migrants, in contrast, are responding to “push” factors,

including many o the same things that inspired masses o people to

…ee to Europe four years ago: failed or fragile states, violence, and

economic insecurity. To contend with the new arrivals, the United

States is weighing many o the same approaches that European coun-

tries have tried but ultimately found wanting. From border walls to

bilateral deals linking immigration to trade and aid, Washington has

borrowed directly from a playbook that fell short abroad. For instance,

U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, requiring

migrants hoping to gain asylum in the United States to have their claims

assessed while they wait in Mexico, mirrors the Ž‘’s long-standing

failed attempts to set up similar systems in Libya and elsewhere.

UESLEI MARCELINO

/ REUTERS

On the road again: a caravan of migrants from Arriaga, Mexico, October 2018

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