Jason Marczak

Opinion contributor

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the new president of Mexico, has entered office at a time when thousands of Central American migrants are making headlines in his country and in the United States. One of the many challenges facing AMLO, as he's nicknamed, is the growing influx of migrants crossing Mexico’s southern border. Bringing order to this migrant flow is no easy task, but the early signs are promising — both for Mexico and for the United States.

One of AMLO’s first acts in office was to sign an agreement with the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the “Northern Triangle” countries, from which the majority of migrants originate. The plan outlines a long-term strategy to foster development and strengthen the rule of law in the three nations. A “Marshall Plan” for Central America, as his foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, put it.

This is an idea that tracks with the multi-year U.S. strategy for Central America, which has provided over $2.6 billion to the region in the last four years, and just Tuesday pledged another $5.8 billion. Mexico had begun to step up as a U.S. partner in addressing the causes of unauthorized migration, but the new AMLO government may be taking that partnership to the next level. This should not be seen as implementing U.S. priorities on our behalf, but as Mexico recognizing that its prosperity — and especially development in its south, a top issue for AMLO — is inter-linked with stability and development in the Northern Triangle.

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But since any such initiative would likely take years to bear fruit, Mexico’s near-term strategy is of vital importance. On that front, the country is quickly putting into place a laudable plan of action. Mexico is firing on all cylinders coordinating sustainable humanitarian assistance, with the government ordering a comprehensive, multi-sector effort in Tijuana, where thousands of migrants remain in limbo.

The Health Ministry is set to dispatch multiple mobile clinics to the shelters housing migrant families, the National Water Commission is installing a new water treatment plant nearby, and the navy has been deployed to coordinate food distribution. Alongside this immediate-term assistance, the government is implementing its medium-term plan: normalizing the migrants’ status and placing them in formal jobs.

The Ministry of Labor is ramping up services to connect migrants with employers, providing transportation from shelters to a job fair, where migrants are also offered humanitarian visas. These visas are issued for one year with an option to renew, and function as a legal work permit. Already, more than 2,250 migrants in Tijuana alone have signed up for the job fair. Nearly 700 have already been issued their visas and accepted formal employment.

Mexico is giving visas and jobs to migrants

Speeding up this process has become the government’s number one priority, with a promise to bring processing times for humanitarian visas to under two weeks.

The private sector has also been brought into the fold and has proved eager to help. The president of Mexico’s Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry pledged 10,000 jobs this week for migrants once they’ve obtained their humanitarian visas. Job permit applications have already increased by over 200 percent and are slated to further accelerate as more seek formal salaried employment during their stay.

And the manufacturing sector is far from alone. Officials in beach-lined Baja California project that the state’s tourism industry has up to 6,000 jobs to offer as it seeks to expand. Authorities there are pushing to further speed up visa processing to get migrants working in hotels, restaurants, bars, and construction.

Mexico is also aiming to arrange employment for migrants throughout the country to avoid oversaturating the North. The Mexican Employers’ Association has offered hundreds of jobs in Mexico City. For his part, AMLO says migrants can become a cornerstone of his infrastructure plans in the South, where he intends to revitalize Mexico’s poorest region by building two new railways and an oil refinery.

US and Mexico must support Central America

Of course, the influx of migrants inevitably stokes some animus among the local population, health facilities are stretched thin, and vulnerable newcomers become targets of extortion. But the Mexican government seems cognizant of the best way to mitigate all of this. By providing formal jobs and normalized temporary status, it is handling the challenge in the most sustainable way possible. And migrants are increasingly taken with the approach.

None of this is meant to be a permanent solution. That will require addressing problems in the Northern Triangle, where opportunities are few, violence is inescapable and the rule of law can seem nonexistent. And like Mexico, the U.S. has a key role to play in helping to build a livable Central America. AMLO’s team has sent strong signals that it will seek common ground with the U.S. on this top issue, sending Foreign Secretary Ebrard to Washington the day after his inauguration.

But in the meantime, as people seeing no future at home continue to leave, let’s give credit where credit is due. Mexico is not without its own problems, and the new government has hardly had a chance to prove itself. But it's on the right track. It’s now up to us to recognize the bold, new steps Mexico is taking and be sure to reciprocate that goodwill.

Jason Marczak is the director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. Follow him on Twitter: @JMarczak