¿Reformando la frontera vertical? De las deportaciones a la contención al interior del territorio mexicano

This study aims to analyze the transformation of Mexican migration policies during the López Obrador administration (2018-2024), highlighting the shift from a detention-deportation paradigm to containment strategies. Through descriptive statistical analysis of administrative records and newspaper data collection, five mechanisms are identified: 1) alignment with U.S. asylum and border policies; 2) detentions spanning from the southern border to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; 3) delays in issuing non-conventional migration documents; 4) systematic blocking of migrant caravans; and 5) forced relocations from north to south. The results reveal that these strategies have consolidated an unprecedented detention-containment model, which is essential to understanding current transit migration management; thus, serving as an explanatory and reference framework for other studies on migration in Mexico.