Washington DC.- The Biden Administration will open migration centers in Guatemala and Colombia for asylum seekers heading to the US-Mexico border, US officials said Thursday.
The move is an attempt by the Joe Biden administration to stem what is expected to be a surge of migrants seeking to cross when the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42 ends.
The migration centers are part of an intense effort to try to prevent thousands of people from making the often dangerous journey to the border with Mexico when the restrictions end on May 11.
But it’s unclear whether the processing centers and other measures, including expedited processing of asylum seekers and cracking down on human smuggling networks, will do much to stem the tide of migrants fleeing countries affected by political and economic.
The Biden Administration has repeatedly warned that the end of Title 42 does not mean that migrants should try to go to the US, since what they have done also sought to open other routes for migration.
In a call with reporters on Thursday, three senior administration officials detailed the migration centers, as well as other steps the government was taking. So far, the centers will be located in both Colombia and Guatemala, with other countries to be announced in the coming weeks.
