The US and Mexican governments are strengthening their strategies to curb irregular immigration. They have also asked authorities in the region for help.
WASHINGTON-
Top U.S. and Mexican officials met in Washington this Friday to discuss greater cooperation to address the problem large number of migrants who attempt to enter the United States through Mexico.
“Since our last meeting, I believe that this is a very significant event Inauguration of President Arévalo in Guatemala“said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the start of the meeting.
“This,” he added, “opens up an important new area for a silent migration operation between our three countries and we will continue to work together more broadly to develop regional solutions to the historic challenge we face.”
Guatemala's new president, Bernardo Arévalo, has said he wants to work with the United States to expand temporary work programs for immigrants there while increasing investment in the poorest areas of his country to prevent them from leaving.
No significant announcement is expected to be made following Friday's compromise. Biden administration officials say this is further progress made at a Dec. 27 meeting in Mexico City.
“Sustainable solutions”
The meeting was also attended by US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and White House National Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena leading the visiting delegation.
Also read: US court will reconsider forcing Texas to remove Rio Grande immigration barrier
“We will focus on implementing sustainable solutions that address the root causes of migration,” a US State Department spokesperson said a call with reporters on Thursday.
The Mexican government has called on Washington to increase investment in development in Central America to curb migration, increase the number of temporary worker visas and other legal avenues for immigration, and increase repatriation flights for people who enter the United States illegally , as a deterrent to immigrants, particularly from Venezuela.
The United States has resumed repatriation flights to Venezuela, and Mexico has done the same since December. This is the latest move by countries in the region to address the flow of people to the US border.
“We encourage other countries to join us. We also welcome the steps taken by Mexico, Panama and other countries to restrict irregular migration and impose new visa controls,” a White House National Security Council official said in a statement. Calling reporters on Thursday.
In May 2023, Mexico agreed to accept migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba who were expelled from the U.S. border to enter the United States without authorization and without established legal pathways to obtain asylum or other forms of migration .
Read also: Colombian ombudsman asks for meeting with Antony Blinken due to migration crisis in Darién
According to the United Nations, Venezuela is in the midst of a political and economic crisis and seven million Venezuelans have left their country of origin.
The authorities arrest thousands of people every day
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 242,418 encounters with migrants at the southern border in November, similar to October's total of 240,986. In 2022, there were a total of 235,173 meetings in November and 231,529 in October.
Figures for December have not yet been released, but federal border officials reported a record 11,000 apprehensions per day at the southern border in December.
“It coincided with the time when law enforcement was no longer being implemented in Mexico. Immigration authorities in Mexico had no resources, which led to President Biden reconnecting with the president on January 10.” [mexicano] [Andrés Manuel López] Obrador,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters.
With the start of the new year, as law enforcement resumed in Mexico, border incursions fell dramatically.
Also read: From the southern border, Mayorkas emphasizes that the immigration problem does not only affect the US
In Thursday's conference call, U.S. officials said this is typically the time of year when border incursions decline.
“But we believe the Mexican government’s actions are also having an impact,” the DHS official said.
Wave of migration becomes a responsibility
The wave of migration has become a political burden for US President Joe Biden in the run-up to the November elections. He has been under enormous pressure from Republicans and some members of his own party to restrict border crossings, in part to ease pressure on American cities struggling to house and feed all new arrivals.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have linked their calls for tougher border policies – their current top domestic policy priority – to the White House's demand for billions of dollars in funding to support Ukraine and Israel.
“We understand there are concerns about Ukraine’s security and sovereignty,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after he and other congressional leaders met Biden this week. “But the American people have the same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and security.”
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner expected to face Biden in November's election, has increasingly used anti-immigrant rhetoric on the campaign trail, saying migrants crossing the border are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
A Department of Homeland Security official said during the call Thursday that the United States and Mexico understand that there are more displaced people worldwide today than at any time since World War II.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says that by the end of 2022, at least 108.4 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide due to “persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disrupting public order.”
That number “includes a record number of displaced people within our own hemisphere,” the DHS official said in the call.
“This is a challenge for us,” the official said. “And it is also a challenge for our Mexican colleagues. We look forward to continuing our intensive discussions with them about how we can work together to address what is not just a U.S. or Mexican challenge, but truly a regional challenge.”
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