Immigration monopolizes claims and protests around the Summit of the Americas. The protesters call for an urgent immigration regulation promised by Joe Biden since he arrived at the White House. The host president has pointed out that “illegal” forms of migration are unacceptable. On the other hand, the reactions due to the absence of the vetoed do not stop: the president of Mexico indicated that his country participates, but “under protest” because he does not accept that anyone be excluded.
The Summit of the Americas has also been marked by protests in the streets of Los Angeles, California. And although they are not out of tune with the Summit due to the specific demand for migratory regulation, the influx of people was not what was expected –half a hundred– and was away from the Convention Center due to the strong security device.
The protesters are calling for regulation, both for asylum seekers and for those who have been in the US for decades on temporary permits.
One million people live in that country with temporary permits such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, in Spanish) or TPS (Temporary Protected Status). 70% of people who benefit from these two programs come from Mexico or Central America.
The #immigrationa topic that will tiptoe at the IX Summit of the Americas, focused the protests called this Wednesday in the streets of Los Angeles while the leaders of the continent met to inaugurate the political forum. pic.twitter.com/8E12Lyx0lD
— EFETV (@EFETV) June 9, 2022
Slogans were also heard criticizing the meeting between Biden and Bolsonaro -scheduled for this Thursday- and protesting the veto of the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, a fact that has generated different reactions in the region.
Angela Sanbrano, an immigrant rights advocate present at the rally, said they want to send a message to President Biden to “keep his promises and extend temporary protected status to people who have lived here for more than 20 years.” years and they are still in limbo.
For Angélica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants, the request to Biden is simple: “You promised a permanent solution for the undocumented and for people who have been temporarily protected for decades… we demand that those solutions be present”.
Salas also questioned that before the announcement that Biden will make this Friday about the immigration declaration, “we do not know what it will contain or which leaders are going to accept it. So they have failed us and they have wasted the opportunity.”
These different mobilizations have integrated what different groups of groups and activists have called the People’s Summit, a way of making room for the issues that they consider have not received the attention they deserve on the official agenda of the Summit.
Another of those issues is Biden’s meeting with the president of Brazil. “The Bolsonaro Administration is not democratic, if Biden meets with Bolsonaro he will come out stronger and use it as a political argument,” explained Elcio Filho Manchineri, advisor to the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB, in Portuguese).
Biden calls for unity of leaders in favor of democracy
In the opening speech of the Summit of the Americas this Wednesday, June 8, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, called for unity among all the democratic leaders of the hemisphere and said that democracy is an “essential ingredient” for the future. region of.
An implicit refutation of the leaders of the nations that decided not to attend due to the veto of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua -countries that the United States did not invite because they were considered authoritarian and undemocratic-, and of those that have a bad relationship with the United States . The absentees, by choice, decided to send their respective foreign ministers in their place as a protest against the decision of the host country, the United States.
And without referring to this exclusion, Biden directed his speech in an allegation in favor of democracy, a system of government that, he pointed out, is “under assault” in the world.
“Our region is large and diverse. We don’t always agree on everything,” Biden said. “But because we are democracies, we work through our disagreements with mutual respect and dialogue.”
Despite that call for unity, when Biden began greeting foreign leaders in attendance, few were heads of state. Instead of the Guatemalan president, Biden shook hands with the foreign minister. He then greeted the Minister of Public Affairs of El Salvador, the Foreign Minister of Honduras and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.
Irregular migration is unacceptable: Biden
As for one of the central themes of the Summit, the US president pointed out in his speech that “safe and orderly migration is good for all our economies”, but “illegal” forms are unacceptable, at a time when increasing flows of undocumented immigrants arriving in the United States. “We will enforce our borders through innovative and coordinated actions with our regional partners,” Biden said.
The paradox is that since migration is one of the most important issues of the Summit, it does not count on the presence of the leaders of the countries of origin of the main migratory flows to the United States: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and Venezuela.
Biden has sought to ease many of the hard-line immigration policies left behind by his predecessor, Donald Trump, and used his first days in office to make a sweeping immigration proposal that would have given millions of people US citizenship. who are undocumented. But the proposal stalled in Congress, and the president’s attention has largely turned to other issues, including inflation and Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The new migration pact
Despite the absences, Biden assured that the call “Los Angeles Declaration on Migration”which will be signed on Friday -the final day of the Summit-, will make it possible to articulate a “new approach” in which all the nations of the continent will assume their “responsibility”.
This Declaration is a short call to action that is expected to guide countries on one of the most pressing issues surrounding migration: welcoming people fleeing violence and persecution, and in search of greater economic stability.
The United States has been the most popular destination for asylum seekers since 2017, posing a challenge to Biden and his immediate predecessors, Trump and Barack Obama.
AMLO: Mexico participates in the Summit “under protest”
The Biden administration insists that the Summit can succeed despite the absence of several key leaders.
However, the reactions to the veto against Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela do not stop. The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), said Thursday that his country is participating in the Summit of the Americas through Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, “under protest” by reaffirming that he did not agree with Washington excluding three countries.
AMLO assured that they do so “under protest” because “we do not accept that anyone be excluded, we want the unity of all the countries of the American continent for the benefit of our peoples,” the president said during his daily press conference, but clarified that he did not wants to encourage blockades or discrimination.
And he stressed that, if his government remains silent, “the situation will continue”, so a new stage must be created by predicting “that in 30 years China will dominate 70% of global trade and America of the North between 4% and 10%… So, what is the most recommended? (…) that we integrate into America and become a strong economic and commercial region…” AMLO pointed out.
With AP and EFE
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