ABSTRACT
The US–Mexico border has gone through some changes since 2019 that have impacted border security and relations between the US and Mexico. The majority of these changes have focused on preventing illegal immigration and narcotics from reaching the US border. The three factors that changed the US–Mexico border and its relationship are: the border wall; Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP); and Covid-19. One major change to the US–Mexico border was the upgrading of the existing border fence infrastructure and the building of new segments of the border wall by the Trump administration, which resulted in about 650 miles of the border having a physical barrier. Besides the border wall, in 2019 the Trump administration impacted the relationship between the US and Mexico through the implementation of the MPP, aka the Remain in Mexico Policy, which required that asylum seekers who enter the US, like those from Central and South America, have to return to Mexico while they await their immigration hearing.
