The usual diplomatic channels face a moment of maximum tension.The decision of US security agencies to reject and return formal diplomatic notes issued by Mexican consulates questioning the internal management of migration centers has tested the coordination between the two nations.
The Limit of Sovereignty and International Conventions
While officials in Washington argue that the administration of their prisons is strictly a matter of domestic sovereignty, the Mexican delegation bases its right to supervision on theVienna Convention on Consular Relations, which guarantees the unrestricted access of consuls to their citizens deprived of their liberty.
The return of these communications marks an unprecedented precedent that shows how electoral polarization and heavy-handed policies in the US are weakening traditional mechanisms of intergovernmental dialogue.
The challenge for the new stage of cooperation
Analysts agree that border security cannot be separated from humane treatment. Without open channels of complaint and cross-checking, the risk of increased trade and migration frictions will continue to rise.
