Almost two-thirds of respondents to a new poll believe that the government should close the southern border to migrants, and an even higher percentage support the deployment of the National Guard to enforce stricter immigration policies.

The poll published today by the newspaper El Financiero found that 63% of the 410 people surveyed would like to see the border with Guatemala closed to migrants, a 9% increase compared to two weeks ago.

In contrast, 35% of respondents believe that the government should support migrants and facilitate their journey through the country to the northern border.

Mexico’s commitment to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the southern border as part of an agreement with the United States that ended President Donald Trump’s tariff threat found support among 68% of poll respondents while 29% opposed the move.

Three-quarters of those polled said that Mexico should deport undocumented Central American migrants and 67% said that the southern border should be militarized.

While the deployment of the National Guard found strong support, another aspect of the deal with the United States – Mexico’s agreement to accept the return of a greater number of asylum seekers as they await the outcomes of their claims in the U.S. – was rejected by a majority of respondents.

Just 36% said that migrants should be accepted under the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy while 60% said that they should not.

Despite Mexico’s commitment to ramp up immigration enforcement, 64% of respondents said that Trump won’t respect the June 7 agreement that indefinitely suspended the imposition of escalating tariffs on all Mexican goods.

At the start of the third week of July, the effectiveness of the anti-migration measures will be assessed and if the United States decides that they are not achieving the desired results, Mexico will take “all necessary steps under domestic law” to implement a safe third country agreement, according to a “supplementary agreement” to the bilateral pact.

Just over half of the poll respondents said the government “acted with dignity” in the negotiations with the United States while 41% said that it caved in to U.S. demands.

However, 57% of those surveyed said that it remains to be seen if the negotiation was a success or failure for Mexico.

Source: El Financiero (sp)