WASHINGTON — A high-level commission from the United States government travels to Mexico Wednesday to participate in a meeting with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in search of agreements to stop the unprecedented irregular migration affecting the country.
He Department of State reported that the commission is made up of Secretary of State Antony Blinken; the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas; and White House National Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall.
“Secretary of State Blinken will discuss the unprecedented irregular migration occurring in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways in which Mexico and the United States intend to address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry on our shared border,” the State Department said.
“Secretary of State Blinken will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, and will highlight the urgent need for lawful pathways and other enforcement measures by partners across the region,” reads a statement from the Department of State.
Thousands continue to enter daily
The Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) has recorded more than 10,000 migrant encounters daily since August.
The immigration crisis experienced on the southern border of the United States has increased during the Christmas holidays, thousands continue to arrive daily, while negotiations in Congress – now on pause – give rise to a possible border agreement, which would intensify the immigration measures and would stop the massive entry of migrants, in exchange for the release of aid to Ukraine.
The “transformative change” that Republicans hope for on the country’s southern border could begin to be implemented in January, when the Capitol resumes its parliamentary activities, if White House staff and senators can make progress in drafting new border legislation -as promised- during the recess days.
Caravan advances to the border
And while the US seeks agreements with Mexico and Congress negotiates with the administration to force it to secure the border, more than 6,000 migrants seek to reach the border. The caravan of migrants that left the border with Guatemala on Christmas continued walking along the roads of Chiapas on Tuesday, asking the governments of the United States and Mexico to instead of tightening immigration policy, offer greater employment opportunities for those leaving their countries. fleeing poverty or violence.
The group, of about 6,000 people, is the largest that has formed this year and began walking just before a high-level delegation from the United States meets with López Obrador on Wednesday to agree on new measures to control the growing flow of migrants throughout the region.
The police continued to monitor the movements of the caravan along with the National Guard. The immigration agents made no attempt to stop them when they passed through the checkpoints.
Immigration programs
The region is experiencing an unprecedented migratory flow that has not been controlled despite the United States’ attempts to open new channels to emigrate legally while toughening the consequences of doing so irregularly.
Joe Biden’s administration has launched several programs known as “humanitarian parole” or “family reunification” to stop undocumented migration and reduce pressure on the border, but they have not achieved that goal.
More than half a million migrants, many of them Venezuelans, crossed the Darién jungle this year, on the border between Colombia and Panama. Mexico detected more than 680,000 foreigners in an irregular situation from January to November, according to official figures. In addition, a record number of almost 137,000 people requested refuge in this country.
The situation worsened in December on the border between Mexico and the United States when US authorities recorded up to 10,000 illegal crossings a day, an unprecedented number that caused temporary closures at some crossings.
Mexico asks for “more cooperation”
López Obrador acknowledged that Americans want Mexico to do more to block migrants to the south, on the border with Guatemala, and make their passage through the country more difficult, but he said that it is not just about containment but also about increasing 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 concerned that the measures against them will be toughened.
“I’m afraid of staying in Cuba, of dying of hunger, that does scare me,” said Dayron Salazar, a Cuban taxi driver who was traveling with several friends.
“We are going all or nothing,” said Honduran José Paz, who was walking with his wife and four children, the youngest four months old, the oldest 13.
On this occasion, the majority of the migrants are Central Americans, Venezuelans, Cubans and Colombians, but there are also migrants from African and Asian countries.
Source: DLA EDITORIAL and with information from AP
