JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) – Juarez business leaders are calling on Mexico to reform labor and immigration laws so they can hire more foreign nationals expelled from the United States.
The issue has gained urgency since Donald Trump became the American president-elect and vowed mass deportations of unauthorized migrants when he takes office on Jan. 20.
“We are bracing for a situation in which Trump comes in with a hard line on immigration, and we are not prepared to cope with mass deportations,” said Jose Andres Quevedo, vice president of the Juarez Chamber of Commerce.
Thousands of migrants have passed through Juarez on their way to the United States in the past few years, with many lingering for weeks or months before crossing the border to seek asylum. Others have found themselves on the streets of Juarez after being removed from the United States.
Quevedo and chamber President Elizabeth Villalobos said residents would rather see the migrants employed and able to fend for themselves, but Mexican bureaucracy often prevents that from happening.
“It’s not just the migrant getting a work permit, it is the business needing permits to employ foreigners. It is a long process involving two to three trips to a government office,” Quevedo said. He recalled how a few dozen migrants received work authorizations before the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are all gone now.
Migrants often find temporary jobs in the informal economy, chamber officials said, such as selling trinkets on street corners, unloading trucks in the market district, or doing odd jobs for homeowners – sometimes in exchange for a night’s lodging.
The problem with that is they are vulnerable to labor exploitation and human rights abuses. Quevedo said that pharmacies, department stores, and other formal employers must demand a work permit and cannot have more than 10 percent of their labor force being foreigners.
Last month, the Juarez chamber signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Organization for Migration to promote hiring migrants. And last week, they met with a Mexican senator to push for legal reforms to cope with the expected deportations.
“We have asked Sen. Juan Carlos Loera to push for an easier process that does not discourage businesses from hiring (foreigners). Also, many migrants – most of them – came (to Mexico) without authorization. They also need to get special permits to work,” Quevedo said.
Loera’s office said the senator is discussing the matter with members of the Border Commission.
According to the former Mexican Refugee Assistance Commission (COMAR) commissioner, Mexico has given refugee status to 149,715 foreign nationals since 2013. More than 7 million individuals who passed through Mexico surrendered or were apprehended by U.S. authorities at the Southwest border in the past four years alone.
Read: Read More