The number of international tourists going to the US is decreasing, with one exception: Mexico

"The number of international tourists traveling to the United States has declined, with one exception, Mexico. After a dip at the beginning of the year, visitors from Mexico are back, and their numbers growing. In fact, those tourists are a bright spot this holiday season when many plan trips to visit relatives, enjoy entertainment and amusement parks and, of course, Christmas shopping in malls from San Diego, San Antonio, or El Paso, across from Ciudad Juarez."

"The increase in Mexican travelers is rising despite repeated videos on social media platforms showing ICE or Border Patrol agents tackling and arresting people, a majority of them Latinos, to carry out Trump's mass deportation promise. And it comes just as the U.S. government plans to require visitors applying for travel visas to provide their personal social media history going back five years, among other requests, according to a recent proposal by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP."

"The number of people driving through land ports of entry grew by 13 percent this year, according to CBP. The president, the government, can do or say whatever they want, and it's all for show, said Raymond Robertson, a professor of economics and government and Director of the Mosbacher Institute for trade, economics and public policy at Texas A&M. But the real love between the two countries, especially with Texas and Mexico and other U.S.-Mexico border cities, is very strong and it's very real."

The number of international tourists to the United States has declined overall, with Mexico as the main exception. After an early-year dip, visitors from Mexico have rebounded and continue growing. Mexican travelers are a bright spot this holiday season for family visits, entertainment and amusement parks, and Christmas shopping in border-region malls from San Diego to El Paso. The increase persists despite widely shared videos of ICE and Border Patrol agents detaining mostly Latino people and amid a CBP proposal to require five years of applicants' personal social media history for travel visas. Through August, about 3 million air arrivals came from Mexico, and land crossings rose 13 percent.

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