In a major win, President Trump makes a deal with Mexico on immigration, avoiding tariffs.

President Trump waves to the crowd as he returns to the United States. Reuters.

In a major political victory President Trump has made a deal with Mexico on immigration, avoiding a round of major tariffs. Reuters. Mexico agreed to immediately process all asylum seekers in Mexico itself instead of allowing them to travel to the United States. Mexico also is taking action on the border, including sending troops to the border with Guatemala. President Trump did not get much help from his party on the issue of immigration as some in the GOP opposed the tariffs. The asylum deal did not go as far as President Trump initially wanted but did expand a program that has deported 10,000 illegal immigrants back to Mexico while their claims are processed. 

My Comment:

This was a pretty big win for President Trump. He didn't get everything he wanted, Mexico won't be declared a safe state in terms of asylum seekers, but he did get some major concessions from Mexico. He also avoided tariffs which could have had an impact on the American economy. 

Mexico will now have to do more to stop illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States. Cutting off the flow from Central America and other countries would be a huge improvement. We would still have to deal with immigrants from Mexico itself but most of the more recent illegals have been from central America. If Mexico is serious about blocking these huge caravans and is willing to use the military to stop them, then we have made some serious progress. 

Keeping asylum seekers in Mexico is a much better deal for the United States as well. These asylum seekers often disappear into the United States while their claims are being processed and if they are rejected it's very hard to track them down. Keeping them in Mexico means that they will have a major incentive to not do so as then they would be stuck in Mexico. 

However, this deal won't stop the problem of illegal immigration. With activist courts trying to prevent everything the president does and congress doing everything they can to not build a border wall this new deal will slow, not stop the flow of migrants. 

It's amazing that President Trump got anything accomplished here at all with as little support he got from his party. There were many senators and other GOP officials speaking out saying that Mexico would never cave and that the tariffs would destroy the economy. They will have to eat a lot of crow now as the tariffs are not happening and Trump has done more on immigration then they ever have. 

The whole incident is proof that tariffs can work as the stick when it comes to trade deals. Mexico had little choice to give up as their economy is weak as it is. They are hugely dependent on trade with the United States and would be bankrupted by any increase in tariffs. Tariffs may have damaged the US economy but it would have utterly destroyed the Mexican one so they had to give Trump at least some of what he wanted. 

That should have been obvious to everyone involved but it's clear that tariffs can work. But if you were listening to the media you never would have believed it. Trump's action were opposed not only by members of his own party but by the entirety of the Democratic Party as well as the news and entertainment media. All of them should now have to explain how they got things so wrong, but you know that won't happen...