The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, Luis Miranda, told the media that the US Government continues to strengthen and enforce immigration laws “We continue to work across the hemisphere, together with our allies, to reduce irregular migration and attack criminal networks that manipulate and abuse people along that path.”
The State Department estimated that at least 284,000 Latin Americans have submitted applications for family reunification this year. That includes 78,000 Salvadorans, around 57,000 Hondurans, 58,000 Guatemalans and 56,000 Colombians.
Meanwhile, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2022, it received more than 57,000 humanitarian permit applications from all nationalities.
According to data from the authorities, almost 160,000 travelers from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti arrived legally in the country With parole procedures from January to the end of June 2023.
Miranda recalled, in turn, that in April, the US administration signed an agreement with the Governments of Panama and Colombia, to address irregular migration in the Darién, where they addressed concerns and proposals related to solving this serious situation, as well as the rise of transnational organized crime.
He stressed that through these efforts carried out together with Panama and Colombia, logistical help has been provided and the security presence has been increased, in and around the Darién. “Since April 20, more than 3,880 Colombian and Panamanian security forces, and more than 271,000 pounds of cargo, have been mobilized to counter criminal organizations operating in that area.”
legal rules continue
In another sense, he emphasized that, After the lifting of Title 42, Title 8 continues to apply, resumed in May, accompanied by the use of the CBP One online application, for migrants who are in central and northern Mexico, with consequences for those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the US.
“We have deported more than 145,000 people since May 12, and we will continue to enforce immigration laws, while we work with our allies in the region, to expand legal pathways that benefit those who seek a better future in our country. “, accurate.
Expansion of family reunification processes
The representative of the Department of State confirmed that the Biden administration has been working on expanding and updating family reunification processes, with the latest measures that benefit countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti and Venezuela. In addition, the start of these processes for Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which have been developed together with the extension of the number of H-2B visas.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that as of April, some 72,500 people have legally entered the United States through the humanitarian parole program.
In turn, the immigration authorities of the United States reported that 27,783 immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti received humanitarian parole in Marchfor the first time since the measure was approved, a figure that is close to the limit of 30,000 announced places.
The DHS estimates that some 73,500 people from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras currently have an approved Form I-130 and are waiting for an immigrant visa to travel to the US.
“We want to tell migrants not to believe in smugglers, and to take advantage of these legal and orderly paths that are working and we have been expanding. This flow of people in the Darién jungle is due to the lies that criminal groups promote, to benefit from the payments of the people who take these roads,” continued Luis Miranda.
For her part, the Principal Deputy Undersecretary of State of the Office of Population, Refugees and Migration, Marta Youth, said that, currently, There are more than 110 million people in a situation of forced displacement around the world, of which 20 are in the Western Hemisphere.
“Many of the people who are passing through the Darién jungle are from the region, like Venezuelans and Ecuadorians, but many also come from other countries. The conditions in the Darién are disastrous, many boys and girls arrive in Panama in traumatic conditions, due to the high rates of violence and the terrain they experience and must cross on the way,” said Marta Youth.
He reiterated that since the US government continues to expand access to legal pathways to enter the US, “In order to provide vulnerable migrants and people in forced displacement, safe and humane options that are free, so that they do not have to undertake dangerous journeys, in search of safety and better opportunities.”
The US official explained that the capacity of the governments of the sectors is being developed to promote the integration of refugees and migrants, providing them with essential services, such as medical care, shelters, as well as job and economic opportunities.
Measures in the face of the migration crisis Darien
In order to offer quality of life to people who leave their country, fleeing the crisis suffered by many Latin American countries, and improve the human migration management capacity, the US Government has taken some measures regarding migration and the increase in people crossing the Darien jungle.
Youth explained that nearly 18 million dollars were provided in humanitarian assistance to Panamaduring fiscal year 2022, intended to complement the efforts of the Panamanian government, aimed at meeting the basic needs of those who leave the jungle such as: water, sanitation, health, attention to gender violence and shelter.
He further stated that he also resources have been mobilized from sources outside the Government, which include more than 1,900 million dollars, in commitments from the private sector, which were contributed by the current vice president of the USA, Kamala Harris, to circulate in the north of Central America. Which reflects, a total of support, only in humanitarian assistance, for fiscal year 2022, of 500 million dollars.
Youth indicated that in the same effort to provide a safe migration process, in some countries of South America and Central America, The Safe Mobility Offices are being expandedfor refugees and migrants. At the same time, he stated that they are active in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala, and have registered thousands of people, facilitating the accelerated refugee process, through the admission program.
“Since August 10, more than 19,000 people have registered in Colombia and Guatemala through the mobilidadsegura.org websitewhile in Costa Rica the figure reached 4,500 people, of which 1,500 were referred to the human rights program.
Finally, he asserted that through these efforts, they have worked hand in hand with the countries of the region and international partners, such as the United Nations Organization (UN), UNHCR and UNICEF, so that migrants have decent migration options. .
