Mexico announces that Biden will allocate 4,000 million dollars to avoid forced immigration

First modification: 01/23/2021 – 23:03

El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will be the recipient countries of the 4,000 million dollars that the Joe Biden Administration plans to deliver to boost employment and development in Central America.

It is a way of attacking the roots of forced immigration, according to the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in whose country and in recent years thousands of migrants trying to reach the United States have been stranded, due to to the hardening of the immigration policies of former President Donald Trump.

“I do not believe I am committing any indiscretion saying that President Biden told me that he is going to allocate 4,000 million dollars in support of the three countries to which I referred to Central America. This is going to help a lot,” said the Mexican head of state during rally and after a phone call with the new US president.

Both AMLO, and a statement issued by the White House in the last hours, agreed that the root of the migration problem must be addressed, as the Mexican president stressed that families do not leave their homes and countries “for pleasure” but “out of necessity. ”.

The announcement comes after the first migrant caravan of 2021 tried to reach the United States, after leaving Honduras on January 13. However, the public force thwarted their passage from Guatemala to Mexico and at least 4,500 of its members have been deported to their country of origin.

On Friday, the governments of Mexico, Guatemala and the United States announced that they agreed to prohibit the passage of caravans through their territories due to the risk of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Migration and health controls will be maintained and strengthened at all border posts,” said the Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pedro Brolo, in a joint statement with the ambassadors of Mexico and the United States, Romeo Ruiz and William W. Popp, respectively.

Biden ratified AMLO that he will reverse Trump’s “draconian” immigration policies

In the same phone call with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Biden outlined his plan to create new legal avenues for immigration and improve the process for asylum seekers, according to an account of the communication released by the White House.

Priorities include “reversing the draconian immigration policies of the previous administration,” the Biden Administration noted.

López Obrador said he thanked the new US president “for his decision to carry out an immigration policy that includes recognizing US citizenship for millions of Mexicans who live and work in the United States.”

“We are going to respectfully exhort the legislators of the United States to approve this initiative of President Biden and to regularize the situation of Mexican migrants,” said the president, who said that Biden was “very kind and respectful.”

On his first day in office, the head of state presented a bill to Congress to give way to citizenship to around 11 million undocumented immigrants. Although for many the process would take 8 years, for others, such as beneficiaries of the Deferred Action (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs, obtaining their citizenship would be immediate, according to a statement by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden also signed decrees to stop the construction of the border wall, the flagship project of the previous Administration, and suspended the “Remain in Mexico” program that forced asylum seekers in the United States to wait for a response in Mexican territory.

With Reuters and EFE