More than one million Central American migrants have been apprehended in Mexico and the U.S. since 2010. While the U.S. has traditionally led the apprehension rates, Mexico has surpassed such rates this year.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI), an independent nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank, said Mexico apprehended one-third more adults and children than the U.S. in 2015 so far. Describing the Mexican enforcement as "muscular," MPI said Mexico has reshaped regional dynamics, which could trigger long-lasting effects. In the U.S., apprehensions of Central Americans during the 2015 fiscal year fell by more than 50 percent.

"The main force at play in the region today with respect to immigration enforcement is the 'squeezing of the balloon,'" said Doris Meissner, director of MPI's U.S. immigration policy program and co-director of MPI's Regional Migration Study Group, which produced the "Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle: A Statistical and Socioeconomic Profile" report.

"To succeed, responses to regional migration dynamics must move beyond shifting the flows and instead begin deflating the pressures that generate them," added Meissner.

According to MPI, the U.S. and Mexico must work with Central America for a comprehensive policy. The countries should determine migration policies that may involve enforcement but also humanitarian protection. MPI stated the comprehensive policy has to address the poor living standards and security in the region.

MPI noted that Mexico deported nearly 80 percent of Central American minors since 2010. The institute stated for every 100 unaccompanied minors apprehended in Mexico, 77 were deported, compared to three out of every 100 apprehended in the U.S.

"The lower level of U.S. deportations of unaccompanied minors reflects long immigration court backlogs and limited adjudications capacity while the high ratio of deportations to apprehensions in Mexico indicates limited humanitarian screening and due-process protections," said Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of the U.S. immigration policy program. "Both the Mexican and U.S. enforcement systems raise concerns about the protection of vulnerable children."

MPI's report sought to debunk the myth that most Central American migrants are criminals, as the majority actually had no criminal background. Based on its research, 61 percent of adult deportees and 95 percent of children were never convicted of a crime.

The report stated that more than 60 percent of deportees to Central American are younger than 29 years old. Of the aforementioned age group, 80 percent are male with 53 percent having at least an elementary-level education. Two percent of deportees had university-level education.

Report authors Rodrigo Dominguez Villegas and Victoria Rietig said the study's findings raised important policy questions, including, "How can the United States and Mexico design region-wide policies that effectively balance enforcement and protection? What can the countries of origin do to stem the flow of migrants? How should the United States and Mexico support the Northern Triangle in the reintegration of deportees to avert the revolving door of migration, deportation, and remigration?"

The MPI report can be read here.

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