WASHINGTON.- White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced Friday that USA will accept requests for asylum of citizens Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who are currently in Mexico.
Until now, the US government is already promoting a program for citizens of these four nationalities, it is the humanitarian parole that benefits 30,000 people monthly. The plan gives them a work permit valid for two years, as long as they have a sponsor in the United States.
The new decision arises as part of the efforts of the government of President Joe Biden to manage migration in a “safe and orderly” manner and is also directed to the citizens of these four nations.
However, a new condition has been added for asylum seekers from those four countries: The measure establishes that they must not have crossed the border of the United States, Mexico or Panama as of early January of that same year.
Jake Sullivan expressed the commitment of the United States to accept referrals for resettlement of refugees from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who are currently in Mexican territory. This announcement was made after a series of meetings between a US delegation and the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during the week.
In recent months, Washington has promoted various “legal channels” to control the massive arrival of migrants at its border with Mexico. This was carried out in response to the suspension, on May 12, of a health regulation that allowed blocking those who arrived without the necessary documentation to enter the country.
The United States government urges migrants to use these legal avenues and avoid placing their lives in the hands of dangerous smugglers and coyotes. Otherwise, they risk deportation and prosecution if they attempt to return within five years.
Since the date of suspension of the health regulation, approximately 4,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan citizens have been sent to Mexico, according to Blas Núñez-Neto, undersecretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security.
The National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, expressed Washington’s “total support” for the Mexican government’s plan to establish a multifunctional international space in the south of the country. This space will offer new job options and shelter for vulnerable people who are in the place.
The Mexican Minister of Foreign Relations, Alicia Bárcena, also supported this initiative and stressed that the objective is to prevent the dangerous transit of migrants to the north, where they suffer violence and attacks. The multi-service space will provide shelter services and employment options, especially aimed at citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who remained in Mexico after May 12.
A second measure adopted by the United States is the care of 1,450 people daily at the southern border, asylum seekers, who must process an interview appointment with the immigration authorities through the CBP One App.
FOUNTAIN: With information from AFP
