EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Faced with historic migration since the fall of 2018, the United States has increasingly relied on foreign partners to stem the tide at its Southern border. Then-President Donald Trump strong-armed Mexico into keeping on its side of the Rio Grande tens of thousands of foreign asylum-seekers through the controversial Migrant Protection Protocols program in 2019. President Joe Biden two years later unveiled his Root Causes of Migration initiative. It calls for more investment in Central America so fewer people feel obligated to head north. This year, the administration secured Mexico’s cooperation to disband caravans and take down migrants from cargo trains headed to the border. With the election a few days away, some are urging the next president to expand the fight abroad against illegal immigration. On the other hand, others say it’s time to stop “exporting suffering” and facilitate legal migration instead of trying to criminalize those who flee oppression, poverty and crime. Holding countries ‘on every link of the chain’ accountable A conservative think-tank and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico this week called on expanding the role of the State Department on immigration. That includes sending nations a clear message about how the United States feels about unlawful migration, shutting down open corridors like Panama’s Darien Gap and do a better job of screening visa applicants. “The new president needs to start by naming a Secretary (of State) who sees these issues as core pillars in U.S. foreign policy – these issues being the fight against illegal immigration internationally and the reinforcing of countries who want to protect their national borders,” said Phillip Linderman, a retired senior foreign service officer and board member of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies. Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau said illegal migration to the United States must be addressed globally because migration is now a global phenomenon. Christopher Landau is a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico. “Traditionally, migration has been a U.S.-Mexico issue. By far, the largest migratory flows on our southern border were single adult male Mexicans. I cannot underscore enough how that has changed in the last decade and truly become a global issue,” he said. “The majority of people crossing our southern border are not Mexicans […] Mexico is now the last link in the chain. We have to focus our diplomacy on every link in the chain – from the originating country to every country they traverse on their journey to the United States and try to stop them at every link in the chain. If we wait until they’re in Mexico, we’ve already lost the battle.” Landau mentioned scenarios in which Asian migrants fly into South America and head for the dangerous Darien Gap undeterred. He said the next administration should be open to discussing legal immigration levels, but that illegal migration is off the table. “One of the pillars of U.S. foreign policy in the 21st century must be curbing these migration flows that are destabilizing the world and, frankly, not doing any favors to migrants who become indentured servants of the criminal organizations that help them in their journey, not to mention (becoming) victims of terrible abuse, sexual and otherwise,” said Landau, who served under Trump. Stop expanding America’s ‘virtual border wall’ Civil and faith-based organizations agree that preserving the status quo only puts migrants in the hands of ruthless smugglers. But they want the next president to change things by ending the expansion of America’s “virtual border wall” into other nations and uphold its responsibility to lawful asylum-seekers. Jesus de la Torre, assistant director for global migration at Hope Border Institute, said Mexico is not the only nation feeling the pressure. Jesus de la Torre, assistant director for global migration at El Paso's Hope Border Institute. “There’s pressure on Morocco and other countries including Central American countries, North African countries to stop people from seeking safety, to accept people returned after they try to seek safety in Spain, in Europe, in the United States,” De la Torre said on a Zoom call Tuesday. “The consequences are extremely concerning. […] We found that people suffer increasing abuses, people disappear, and more people are dying while trying to seek safety.” Jesuit volunteers assisting displaced Africans trying to find safety in Europe say migrant deaths are up twofold this year since a European crackdown on traditional migrant pathways. They say people are dying on the sea or being enslaved by criminals after taking alternate paths. Karla Rivas, a journalist and activist from Honduras, said the United States tends to enact immigration policies from a security perspective and partners with countries that are not democratic, with a history of corruption and authoritarian leaders. She worries that whether Trump or Harris wins, Americans will continue to talk about border security, protecting the U.S. from criminals and putting more pressure on other governments who will not respect migrants' human rights. 'You can't say they came in illegally and don't have rights' Gretchen Kuhmer is a Mexico-based advocate for migrant women. “What worries us is their lack of access to housing, education, health care and safety. You and your children spend nine months in a (migrant) camp and don’t go to school,” Rivas said. In addition, “migrants in Mexico don’t have freedom of movement, not even if they’re Mexicans. There are highway checkpoints and authorities use racial profiling to get people off buses. […] We would like to see more travel pathways, more regular visas so people don’t have to hire smugglers. You can’t say, ‘they came in illegally’ and they don’t have rights.” Gretchen Kuhmer, director of Mexico’s Institute for Migrant Women, called on the U.S. and Mexico to enact more legal pathways for migrants. For several years, she has seen the plight of women and their children who left their countries under extreme circumstances and be sidelined for months waiting for an online appointment in the U.S. through a CBP One app she says sometimes won’t give you one for nine months.