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America’s southern border has become a global crossroads

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SOME MIGRANTS huddled in tents provided by local volunteers. Others slept on the desert floor, facing fire pits burning rubbish. The camp, which in 2023 sprang up outside Jacumba Hot Springs, a town in San Diego County, California, was encircled by mountains, highways and the border wall. When Border Patrol agents came to take people for processing, they had to resort to nonverbal communication. “Sit if you have a passport.” “Step forward if you are travelling with children.” If the migrants were from Mexico and Central America, as most used to be, Spanish would suffice. Yet among those who had just walked across from Mexico were people from China, India and Turkey.

Image: The Economist

Last year seems to have set records for the number of migrants apprehended at the southern border, and Republicans in Congress are demanding reforms to America’s asylum system in return for aid to Ukraine. A deal has proved elusive. Slightly more under the radar, the diversity of the Jacumba camp reflects a big change in who is crossing over. In fiscal year 2023, for the first time, migrants from places beyond Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras made up more than half of all those apprehended at the border (see chart 1). Venezuelans are the largest part of this group. But last year 43,000 Russians, 42,000 Indians and 24,000 Chinese also made the crossing—up from 4,100, 2,600 and 450, respectively, in 2021. America’s northern border has proved porous, too. In total some 40,000 Indian and Chinese migrants came south from Canada last year.

Migrants take different paths to the southern border, depending on where they come from. An analysis by Idean Salehyan and Gil Guerra of the Niskanen Centre, a think-tank in Wasington, DC, suggests that most Chinese fly to Ecuador, to which they have visa-free travel, before making the long and dangerous trek through Panama’s Darién Gap. Panamanian data confirm that the number of Chinese migrants crossing the jungle rose steadily in 2023. In October, El Salvador began to tax African and Indian travellers at the country’s main airport. Turkish migrants in Jacumba had flown to Tijuana and then walked into California.

Certain nationalities tend to cluster in specific border sectors. Chinese and Russians often cross near San Diego and Indians near Tucson, Arizona. Migration flows are constantly evolving, says Ariel Ruiz Soto, of the Migration Policy Institute, a think-tank. He likens the border to a balloon. If you squeeze one side (say, enforcement increases in San Diego), the air will flow to another (migrants will head to Tucson or El Paso.) Social media and messaging apps have helped spread information. TikTok and YouTube are filled with videos teaching migrants about routes. “Once families know that their friend or cousin has made it,” says Mr Ruiz Soto, “they’re much more likely to take a chance.”

Smuggling networks have evolved to serve the increased demand. Notices painted on walls and printed on fliers all over the Indian states of Punjab and Gujarat promise help with moving to America, Australia, Britain and Canada: visa services, college admissions, job opportunities. A charter plane bound for Nicaragua and filled with Indian migrants was recently grounded in France while officials conducted a human-trafficking investigation. The Turks in Jacumba admitted they had paid a coyote to show them the way to a hole in the border wall. Mexican cartels are also diversifying their enterprises by getting into the people-smuggling business.

Why the surge? A number of trends converged in 2023 to diversify irregular migration to America. War and instability pushed people to leave their countries. The Jewish Family Service of San Diego, which runs a migrant shelter, helped more Russians than any group besides Mexicans in the nearly two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. The end of China’s lengthy and repressive zero-covid policy allowed Chinese to travel internationally again.

Several Republican politicians have suggested that China is sending spies to infiltrate America. It is not lunacy to be wary of potential agents working for Chinese security services. Last year the Department of Justice charged two Chinese men living in New York City with operating an illegal police station “to monitor and intimidate dissidents”. Yet Mr Salehyan argues that there is no evidence that asylum-seekers, who willingly give themselves up to Border Patrol, have sabotage in mind.

Image: The Economist

Roughly 70% of asylum applications from Chinese migrants between 2003 and 2023 were granted, suggesting that their reasons for leaving China were mostly credible (see chart 2). In fact, Ecuadorian data show that a disproportionately high share of Chinese migrants are coming from Hong Kong, where dissent has been punished, and Xinjiang, where Uyghurs have been persecuted. Rather than plotting to undermine America, plenty seem to be seeking freedom.

But many, probably most, migrants have a financial incentive to come. Several at the camp in Jacumba said they were fed up waiting years for a visa, and hoped to earn more money in America than back home. As of December, more than 300,000 people who had submitted immigrant visa applications were waiting for an interview. Delays are largely the result of the pandemic, which shut down consulates and decimated their staff. More important, there are not nearly enough visas for the number of people who want to come. Yet expanding legal pathways has not, so far, been part of Congress’s spasmodic negotiations.

This increasingly global migration to America’s borderlands says something about the enduring power of the idea that America is a land of opportunity. For many migrants in Jacumba there is no other place that they would risk everything—their money, their safety—to get to. When asked why he didn’t try to move somewhere closer to Turkey, Selim Gok, a 20-year-old student, responded matter-of-factly: “Because I speak English.”

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Economics

EC President von der Leyen

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The European Union is preparing further countermeasures against U.S. tariffs if negotiations fail, according to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed 20% tariffs on the bloc on Wednesday.

Von der Leyen’s comments come after retaliatory duties were announced by the bloc after the U.S. imposed tariffs on  last month in a bid to protect European workers and consumers. The EU at the time said it would introduce counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods.

Previously suspended duties — which were at least partially in place during Trump’s first term as president — are set to be re-introduced alongside a slew of additional duties on further goods.

Industrial-grade steel and aluminum, other steel and aluminum semi-finished and finished products, along with their derivative commercial products, such as machinery parts and knitting needles were set to be included. A range of other products such as bourbon, agricultural products, leather goods, home appliances and more were also on the EU’s list.

Following a postponement, these tariffs are expected to come into effect around the middle of April.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

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Economics

ADP jobs report March 2025:

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Attendees check in during a job fair at the YMCA Gerard Carter Center on March 27, 2025 in the Stapleton Heights neighborhood of the Staten Island borough in New York City. 

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Private payroll gains were stronger than expected in March, countering fears that the labor market and economy are slowing, according to a report Wednesday from ADP.

Companies added 155,000 jobs for the month, a sharp increase from the upwardly revised 84,000 in February and better than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 120,000, the payrolls processing firm said.

The upside surprise comes amid worries that President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs could deter firms from adding to headcount and in turn slow business and consumer activity. Trump is set to announce the next step in his trade policy Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Hiring was fairly broad based, with professional and business services adding 57,000 workers while financial activities grew by 38,000 as tax season heats up. Manufacturing contributed 21,000 and leisure and hospitality added 17,000.

Service providers were responsible for 132,000 of the positions. On the downside, trade, transportation and utilities saw a loss of 6,000 jobs and natural resources and mining declined by 3,000.

On the wage side, earnings rose by 4.6% year over year for those staying in their positions and 6.5% for job changers. The gap between the two matched a series low last hit in September, suggesting a lower level of mobility for workers wanting to switch jobs.

Still, the overall numbers indicate a solid labor market. Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the level of open positions is now almost even with available workers, reversing a trend in which openings outnumbered the unemployed by 2 to 1 a couple years ago.

The ADP report comes ahead of the more closely watched BLS measure of nonfarm payrolls. The BLS report, which unlike ADP includes government jobs, is expected to show payroll growth of 140,000 in March, down slightly from 151,000 in February. The two counts sometimes show substantial disparities due to different methodologies.

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Economics

Trump tariffs’ effect on consumer prices debated by economists

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The U.S. government is set to increase tariff rates on several categories of imported products. Some economists tracking these trade proposals say the higher tariff rates could lead to higher consumer prices.

One model constructed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston suggests that in an “extreme” scenario, heightened taxes on U.S. imports could result in a 1.4 percentage point to 2.2 percentage point increase to core inflation. This scenario assumes 60% tariff rates on Chinese imports and 10% tariff rates on imports from all other countries.

The researchers note that many other tariff proposals have surfaced since they published their findings in February 2025. 

Price increases could come across many categories, including new housing and automobiles, alongside consumer services such as nursing, public transportation and finance. 

“People might think, ‘Oh, tariffs can only affect the goods that I buy. It can’t affect the services,'” said Hillary Stein, an economist at the Boston Fed. “Those hospitals are buying inputs that might be, for example, … medical equipment that comes from abroad.” 

White House economists say tariffs will not meaningfully contribute to inflation. In a statement to CNBC, Stephen Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, said that “as the world’s largest source of consumer demand, the U.S. holds all the leverage, which means foreign suppliers will have to eat the economic burden or ‘incidence’ of the tariffs.” 

Assessing the impact of the administration’s full economic agenda has been a challenge for central bank leaders. The Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave its target for the federal funds rate unchanged at the meeting in March. 

The Fed targets its overnight borrowing rate at between 4.25% and 4.5%, with the effective federal funds rate at 4.33% on March 31, according to the New York Fed. The core personal consumption expenditures price index inflation rate rose to 2.8% in February, according to the Commerce Department. Forecasts of U.S. gross domestic product suggest that the economy will continue to grow at a 1.7% rate in 2025, albeit at a slower pace than what was forecast in January.  

Consumers in the U.S. and businesses around the world are bracing for impact. 
 
“There is a reason why companies went outside of the U.S.,” said Gregor Hirt, chief investment officer at Allianz Global Investors. “Most of the time it was because it was cheaper and more productive.” 

Watch the video above to learn how much inflation tariffs may cause.

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