WASHINGTON — The United States registers an increase in the immigration of Hondurans and Guatemalans because the signs tell them that it is time to enter “with families” without being deported, said Thursday the spokesman for the Department of Security, Luis Miranda.
“We have seen an increase in immigration of Honduras and of Guatemala in the last two months,” said the Undersecretary of Communications of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at a virtual press conference with Honduran journalists.
Although he lacked comparative figures, he explained that “in the last two months more or less 30,000 people (from Honduras) have arrived, 50 or 60% (…) in family groups.”
Thousands are arriving at the border with the United States carrying children, it is the letter that guarantees them not to be deported due to the flexibility of the administration of President Joe Biden with children. The minors are subjected to long journeys and dangers by their presumed parents on their tour to the United States.
He explained that “cartels” and other “criminal organizations” are “telling families that this is the time to travel” because “they will not be deported.”
“In many cases (people) are believing the lies of the criminals, the smugglers, the coyotes,” Miranda stressed.
He recognized that the flow of people is controlled “by the cartels” that “are carrying out violence, extortion, kidnappings” and other abuses against people who emigrate, because for them the migration “it is a business”.
Miranda stressed that deportations do not stop and in the first two months — after Title 42, the measure that allowed restrictions to stop COVID-19, was annulled — “we deported more than 85,000 people,” including Cubans, Haitians , Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to Mexico.
Migrants -ap
AP/Rebecca Blackwell
The official warned that those who enter illegally risk “being banned from entering the United States” for more than five years, subjecting themselves to “criminal consequences” and losing the possibility of entering through “legal channels.”
He stressed that the United States is doing “a lot to expand these legal avenues” and gave as an example “that more than 65,000 additional visas were assigned for temporary workers and non-agricultural sectors for this year.” Twenty thousand were assigned to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
And “we are in the process of working with the State Department and other countries throughout the hemisphere to establish safe mobility centers. This is going to be very important because what (…) is sought is to create routes not only for the United States but also for countries like Canada and Spain”, then there will be “greater opportunities”.
FOUNTAIN: With information from AP
