JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) – They come from places like Jerome, Idaho, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Their pickups are loaded with gifts, their spirits full of hope at the prospect of seeing extended family at least briefly during the holidays.
They are the tens of thousands of “paisanos,” or countrymen, that return to Mexico from the U.S. from mid-November to New Year’s Day.
That annual return has been tarnished in recent years by concerns about safety on Mexican roads, as drug cartels sow terror on towns along highways in central states like Guanajuato and Zacatecas, and in Michoacan and Guerrero to the west.
“We had no problems with (Mexican) customs. Let’s see how we fare on the road,” said Christian Ramirez, a resident of Washington state who crossed into Mexico at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, port of entry this week on his way to Michoacan.
Ramirez says he has been away from his family in Mexico for 16 years, working in orchards and construction sites in Washington.
He said some brief trips home have left bitter memories, so he advises other “paisanos” to take precautions when venturing back into Mexico.
“Sometimes they have roadblocks; they don’t respect you. […] I would tell people to pay with credit cards, not cash to avoid swindles… or bribes,” he said.
The Mexican government wants to grow this type of southbound traffic from the United States. Mexicans living abroad last year sent $63 billion in remittances to family members, and that source of revenue represented 4.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas.
Those Mexicans living abroad who keep strong ties with extended family in Mexico sent an average of $390 a month in 2022, the Dallas Fed reported.
In recent years, the Mexican government has run a constant public relations campaign encouraging its “paisano heroes” to visit and vowing to keep them safe.
Last week, the federales and several states partnered in the deployment of thousands of police officers to highways stretching from northern Mexican border cities to the interior of the country.
The government also has put out a visitors’ guide outlining requirements to drive a U.S.-registered car into Mexico, the amount of tax free merchandise they are entitled to bring and where to pay any import taxes.
In the border state of Chihuahua, 400 police officers have been monitoring roads and assisting travelers since last week. They operate primarily on main roads like the Pan American Highway that runs through Juarez, Villa Ahumada, Chihuahua City and extends into the stare of Durango.
Israel, a resident of Idaho who would not give his last name, said spending time with loved ones during the holidays is worth the two-week trip.
“We’re going to Jalisco to spend Christmas with the family,” he said. “We’ll see how safe the roads are … I hope they are fine. We’re only visiting for Christmas and New Year’s Day, then we go home,” he said last Tuesday.
He carried in his four-dour pickup two girls’ bicycles and several bags full of presents for his loved ones.
Jesus, a retiree from Arkansas, drove into Mexico this week with some misgivings. But as he left the Mexican customs office south of Santa Teresa, he said he noticed a change for the good.
“We are just coming in, but it looks like things are better. Just the way they treat you now in the (customs) office is better. They had a different attitude before. For the moment, I feel a bit safer,” he said as he and a younger relative set out from Juarez to Durango.
The Mexican government has set up a travelers’ hotline at 1-877-210-9469 if still in the U.S. or 800-201-8542 if already in Mexico.
