Article snippet: Ending catch-and-release is a huge win for Americans and Trump because it means border officials now have a legal alternative to the catch-and-release rules which allow migrants to legally enter the United States if they bring children and claim asylum. Those catch-and-release rules set by Congress and the courts also allow the migrants to get work permits before their asylum court hearings, which are now backlogged for two or more years. Instead of catch-and-release, the migrants can be returned to Mexico until their asylum claims can be heard by a judge. The “joint declaration” was outlined in a State Department message: Mexico’s agreement to offer jobs and healthcare to the migrants will weaken lawsuits by pro-migration U.S. groups that oppose the deal. In exchange, the U.S will also work with Mexico to spur regional economic development. Mexico also promised to step up police enforcement against the cartels’ labor trafficking from Central America into the United States: The promise of extra enforcement is vague, and far less important to U.S. border security than the return of migrants to Mexico. However, border officials face the practical problem of processing migrants for return to Mexico at a faster rate than the cartels can bus them up to the border. If the border agencies cannot keep pace with the cartels’ transport networks, they may be forced to release some migrants into the United States. The compromise deal allows Mexico to dodge the escalating tar... Link to the full article to read more