Title 42/Mayan Train

Title 42. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he reached an agreement with US President Joe Biden to act jointly to control the migratory flow after the termination of Title 42. "We are going to help and cooperate with the US government in everything, so that there is no chaos and much less violence on the border. We are helping in the southeast to protect migrants." 

This week Title 42, one of former US President Donald Trump's toughest immigration policies, was terminated. Consequently, representatives from the US and Mexico met to agree on additional measures to regulate migration. The new strategy focuses on fighting human smugglers and traffickers, addressing the root causes of migration and creating regional migration centers.

In March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the Title 42 policy, which prevents asylum seekers from applying for US protection and allows the US to send migrants to either their countries of origin or Mexico within the first few hours of their arrival. According to CDC authorities, the policy was necessary due to the increase in COVID-19 infections in the US. Since the policy's implementation, more than 1.8 million deportations have taken place, according to US government data.

Mayan Train. Diego Prieto, Director, National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), said that the rescue of artifacts from sections 1 to 5 has already been approved, so the works can continue. "This means that they can move forward. We will continue with the tasks of rescue, restoration of museum pieces and academic rulings."

Many continue to resist the construction of the Mayan Train Sections, which could damage the karst landscapes, harm the integrity of ground water reservoirs and cause significant deforestation, as well as destroy archeological and paleontological remains. Last year, Pietro reported that more than 29,000 archeological pieces had been recovered from the Mayan Train construction sites.

Artifacts. Prieto said that after decades, the monument known as “Monstruo de la Tierra” (Monster of the Earth) will be returned to Mexico. "On May 19, the New York Prosecutor's Office is going to formally deliver the 19th-century monument of Chalcatzingo that was stolen by traffickers in the middle of the 20th century. It has been a decades-long struggle to fight for the return of this magnificent piece."

Recently, authorities reported that Mexico has repatriated 11,450 goods under López Obrador’s government. According to authorities, the "My Heritage Is Not for Sale" campaign has had a favorable response from collectors, companies, citizens and countries around the world. Italy, Sweden, US, Germany and South Korea are the main countries that have voluntarily returned archeological pieces to Mexico.