On October 12, 2022, Mexico agreed to accept an unspecified number of Venezuelan migrants bound for the United States who did not apply to legally enter the United States through a new program and were removed at the U.S. border under Title 42.

In exchange, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made additional H-2B visas available for temporary non-agricultural workers, according to a U.S. congressional analysis.

Historically, most H-2B visas have been granted to Mexican nationals.

On January 5, 2023, DHS announced the expansion of the Venezuelan parole program to Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Cubans.

As part of that agreement, Mexico agreed to receive up to 30,000 migrants expelled from those three countries per month who are in an irregular status rather than through the parole process, a number that U.S. officials say could increase.

U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Mexico for this cooperation while speaking at the North American Leaders’ Summit, but the summit did not address detailed immigration policies.

The summit did result in an expansion of U.S. and Mexican efforts to address the root causes of migration into a trilateral action plan, as well as the creation of a virtual platform to allow migrants to access legal migration channels.

Venezuelan Migrants

In preparation for the termination of Title 42 on May 11, 2023, the United States, Mexico, and other regional partners have intensified cooperation on migration management, combating alien smuggling and misinformation, and other related initiatives.

Mexico has committed to continue to receive expedited deportations of certain non-Mexican nationals who have been removed to date under Title 42.

Mexican border cities, some of which have high rates of violent crime, have been hosting tens of thousands of migrants.

Some migrants have experienced precarious living situations and attacks by criminal groups.

Finally, Human rights groups are concerned about how the end of Title 42 will affect conditions for migrants in Mexico.