WASHINGTON — A high-level US government commission travels there Mexico He is scheduled to attend a meeting with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday to discuss agreements to end unprecedented irregular migration in the country.
He Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the commission consists of Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Secretary of National Security Alejandro Mayorkas; and Liz Sherwood-Randall, White House national security adviser.
“Secretary Blinken will discuss and provide opportunities for unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere Mexico and the United States intends to address border security challenges, including measures to enable the reopening of key ports of entry on our shared border,” the State Department said.
“Secretary Blinken will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection and emphasize the urgent need for lawful pathways and other enforcement actions by partners across the region,” the State Department said in a statement.
Thousands continue to come in daily
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded more than 10,000 encounters with migrants every day since August.
The immigration crisis at the United States' southern border has worsened over the Christmas holiday, with thousands continuing to arrive daily as negotiations in Congress – now paused – lead to a possible border deal that would tighten immigration measures and halt massive entry of migrants in exchange for the release of aid to Ukraine.
The “transformative change” that Republicans hope to see at the country's southern border could be implemented in January when the Capitol resumes its parliamentary activities, provided White House staff and senators make progress on drafting new border laws, as promised can achieve break days.
The caravan advances to the border
And as the U.S. seeks agreements with Mexico and Congress negotiates with the administration to force it to secure the border, more than 6,000 migrants are attempting to reach the border. The caravan of migrants that left the border with Guatemala on Christmas continued to move through the streets of Chiapas on Tuesday, prompting calls from the governments of the United States and Mexico to give greater sanctions to people leaving their countries rather than tightening immigration policies to provide employment opportunities. fleeing poverty or violence.
The group of about 6,000 people is the largest to form this year and began its trek just before a high-level delegation from the United States met with López Obrador on Wednesday to discuss new measures to control the growing flow of migrants across the country Country to agree region.
Police, along with the National Guard, continued to monitor the caravan's movements. Immigration officials made no attempt to stop them as they passed through the checkpoints.
Immigration programs
The region is experiencing an unprecedented migration flow that has not been controlled despite attempts by the United States to open new channels for legal emigration while exacerbating the consequences of irregular emigration.
Joe Biden's administration has launched several programs known as “humanitarian parole” or “family reunification” to stop illegal migration and ease pressure at the border, but they have failed to achieve that goal.
More than half a million migrants, many of them Venezuelans, crossed the Darién jungle on the Colombia-Panama border this year. According to official data, Mexico detected more than 680,000 foreigners in an irregular situation from January to November. In addition, a record number of almost 137,000 people sought refuge in this country.
In December, the situation on the border between Mexico and the United States worsened when US authorities recorded up to 10,000 illegal border crossings per day, an unprecedented number that led to temporary closures of some border crossings.
Mexico asks for “more cooperation”
López Obrador acknowledged that Americans want Mexico to do more to block migrants in the south, on the border with Guatemala, and make it more difficult for them to pass through the country, but said that this was not just about containment; about increased development cooperation. and to solve “political problems” in countries like Cuba or Venezuela that encourage migration.
The migrants who make up the caravan do not seem to be afraid that the measures against them will be tightened.
“I'm afraid to stay in Cuba, to die of hunger, that's what scares me,” said Dayron Salazar, a Cuban taxi driver who was traveling with several friends.
“It's all or nothing,” said Honduran José Paz, who was traveling with his wife and four children, the youngest four months old and the oldest 13.
On this occasion, most of the migrants are Central Americans, Venezuelans, Cubans and Colombians, but there are also migrants from African and Asian countries.
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SPRING: DLA EDITORIAL and with information from AP