“No country has been more critical to U.S. border enforcement efforts than Mexico, which at times in 2024 recorded more migrant encounters in its territory than the U.S. Border Patrol did at the Southwest border every month,” according to the report by the Migration Policy Institute released Thursday.

Shifts in unauthorized migration and humanitarian protection trends in recent years has made the relationship between the United States and Mexico regarding immigration crucial to meeting migration challenges, according to the study “Facing New Migration Realities: U.S.-Mexico Relations and Shared Interests,” by the non-partisan think tank.

The study acknowledges the new presidential administrations for both the United States and Mexico are having a resounding effect on reducing illegal crossings at the border. And it says the continued relationship between President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will set the tone for how well border enforcement continues into the future.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection report a substantial decrease in encounters of those crossing the Southwest border illegally since Trump took office in January.

In April, there were 8,383 encounters by U.S. Border Patrol agents on the Southwest border, down from 128,895 in April 2024 under the Biden administration, according to the latest CBP data.

• Establish a transparent, shared border infrastructure at the Mexico-Guatemala border, with U.S. support, to manage irregular migration and accomplish labor and protection screening at and beyond the Mexico-Guatemala border.
• Combat cross-national migrant smuggling organizations, using follow-the-money strategies that have proven effective in counter-terrorism investigations.
• Strengthen labor pathways between Mexico and the United States to help meet U.S. labor needs and reduce the economic pressures that drive unauthorized migration from Mexico.

“As the new administrations in Mexico City and Washington, D.C., set their courses for the period ahead, they would do well to advance their respective national interests by incorporating strategies that address the deeper complexities of irregular movement, consider the lessons from prior hemispheric collaboration and leadership models, and promote migration through channels that are legal, safe and orderly,” the study says.