A dozen Latin American presidents and foreign ministers meet on Sunday, October 22 in Mexico with the idea of finding a solution to the migratory flows that shake two continents on their way to the United States. In addition, the White House announced another meeting in early November with Joe Biden, more than a year after his non-binding statement at the so-called “Summit of the Americas”, in which 20 countries in the region agreed on measures to confront the migration crisis.
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Migration is one of the problems that worries world leaders at this time, which is why governments have begun to talk about solutions together, but the numbers continue without respite. This year alone 1.7 million migrants arrived at the border between Mexico and the United States, according to the Government of Mexico.
Immigration is becoming a huge political issue in both nations, which hold presidential elections next year.
It is very difficult to manage these numbers if we do not have a policy where migration is not only managed between Mexico and the United States, but also from northern South America to the United States, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said before Congress this week.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador added that Latin American countries, in a united front, must then “seek the cooperation of the United States government.”
This time, the presidents of Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela attend the Chiapas conference. Also the Prime Minister of Haiti, Airel Henry.
Bárcena said the summit seeks to discourage migration through economic programs, address Washington’s sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba and discuss “paths of labor mobility” to the United States.
The Mexican summit is a welcome start to “dialogue with southern countries,” but it may not achieve much, said Dolores Paris Pombo, a migration researcher.
US agreements with Mexico and Venezuela
Amid US economic sanctions and a political and economic crisis, according to the UN, some 7.1 million Venezuelans have fled the country in recent years, creating challenges for their South American neighbors.
In addition, the incoherent US immigration policy – which swings wildly between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden – exacerbates the problem in Latin America, Paris Pombo said.
Since taking office in 2021, Democrat Biden has opened a number of new legal avenues for immigrants, while adopting some more restrictive border measures that echo the policies of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.
Biden has carried out several policies to stop the number of undocumented immigrants arriving in the US, for example he reached an agreement with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (despite the fact that Washington does not recognize his re-election in 2018). Some 130 Venezuelan migrants arrived back in their country on Wednesday on a chartered plane from the United States, thus resuming deportations to Venezuela, which had been paralyzed for a long time.
At the same time, it also offered protection from deportation to 472,000 Venezuelans to allow them to obtain residence and work permits within 18 months, although this would only apply to those who arrived before July 31 of this year.
As part of the effort to promote legal migration, it has created a series of so-called “Safe Mobility Offices” in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and, most recently, Ecuador, to expedite the processing of refugees and other humanitarian and employment permits.
And in September, Mexican and U.S. authorities reached an agreement for Mexico to deport some migrants expelled there from the United States.
Biden’s border approach has drawn harsh criticism from Republicans and even some Democrats in cities facing large numbers of asylum seekers, arriving with little support and overwhelmed local resources.
Joe Biden will receive leaders of South American countries
Last Friday, United States President Joe Biden announced that he will receive leaders from South American countries at the White House for a summit on November 3 in which the United States will reaffirm its commitment to cooperation for economic growth and the fight against irregular migration.
During the Americas Alliance for Economic Prosperity Leaders Summit, Biden will also outline commitments to strengthen and expand U.S. efforts to boost regional economic growth.
The announcement of the latest summit comes after the Biden administration earlier in the week broadly eased sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil sector in response to the 2024 election deal reached between the government and opposition parties.
The previous summit, held in Los Angeles in June 2022, was snubbed by the president of Mexico after the exclusion of the leftist governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
With AFP and Reuters
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