MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico is slated to impose visa requirements for Brazilian visitors amid efforts to slow a wave of U.S.-bound migration from Brazil, according to a document from Mexico’s interior ministry.
Mexico has not required visas for Brazilians since 2004, giving migrants an easier path to enter the country and proceed north to the United States, where they have been arrested at the southern border in record numbers this year.
Reuters reported this week that the Biden administration since July has asked Mexico to impose visa requirements on Brazilians to make the route through the neighboring country less attractive.
A draft for the new visa policy, drawn up by Mexico’s interior ministry and published by the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement, noted that a change was needed because more Brazilians were entering the country for reasons other than tourism, transit and business.
Officials at migration checkpoints have found “a significant number of people who intend to use the visa waiver improperly,” the document said.
It was not clear when the new policy would go into effect. The Brazilian and Mexican foreign ministries did not immediately reply to requests for comment, and nor did Mexico’s interior ministry.
Mexico’s foreign ministry has informed the Brazilian government of the decision, the document said.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Rio de Janeiro and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Editing by Sandra Maler)
