On December 19, 2018, Mexico's Secretary of Interior and the Commissioner of the National Institute of Migration (“INM” for its acronym in Spanish) announced the “Migration Policy Program 2018-2024,” an initiative to restructure and modernize the INM.  The main objectives of the program are to enhance respect for immigrants’ human rights, regulate mobility across the Central American and southeastern Mexican regions, guarantee the transparency of the immigration process, and prioritize the interests and repatriation of Mexicans living abroad.

To this end, Mexico's immigration regulations and procedures will be amended to implement the principles of transparency, certainty of outcomes of immigration processes, legality, efficiency and respect for human rights. The INM will establish strategies for safe, orderly and regular mobility from Central America, adjusting the current criteria for the issuance of tourist visas, border employee cards, and regional visitor cards.

The program will also adopt strategies to help foreigners residing in Mexico become fully integrated—socially and economically— into Mexican society, as well as to enhance their contribution to the country’s development. Likewise, policies will be implemented to attract Mexicans living abroad and foreigners who possess a high level of training and specialty in the scientific, professional and artistic fields.