The United States announced this Thursday a new series of measures to order legal migration and combat illegal entries that will be effective as of May 11, when the current Title 42 is suspended and the old article 8 is reactivated to deport to their countries. to people in an irregular situation. The restrictions, aimed primarily at controlling the border with Mexico, will also apply to rafters trying to enter by sea.
One of the new measures is to extend the parole for family reunification, available to Cubans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans and Colombians, according to what Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, and Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of National Security, reported at a press conference.
In addition, they will create “processing centers” in Latin American countries, such as Colombia and Guatemala, to manage entry permits to the US through legal channels. In these centers, applicants will be able to access the available legal migration channels, such as obtaining refugee status, family reunification programs or work permits, the Joe Biden Administration had expressed. in a previous statement.
At the same time, Canada and Spain have agreed to receive migrants who are referred from these centers.
At the same time, Canada and Spain have agreed to receive migrants who are referred from these centers.
In his speech this Thursday, Blinken said that they will offer help to their southern partners to combat human trafficking, in addition to expanding the refugee admission program on US soil. There will be, said the secretary, “more and more accessible opportunities.”
In this regard, he recalled the program of parole humanitarian launched at the beginning of this yearwhich offers 30,000 permits a month for Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Nicaraguans and has reduced illegal migration, Blinken says, by 97%.
The Secretary of State also assured that they are working on the “root causes” so that people do not have to move from their places of origin, for which they anticipate that they will work in educational and health facilities in certain countries.
The challenge posed by the migratory wave of recent years, Blinken pointed out, “cannot be solved by a single country”, and that is why the US “is working with its regional partners.” He specifically mentioned Mexico, Canada, Spain, Colombia and Guatemala.
In the same sense, Alejandro Mayorkas expressed himself, who asserted that “illegal migration is a problem in the hemisphere that needs solutions in the hemisphere.”
“The propaganda of the smugglers is false: we are not open and the border will not be open from May 11”
The head of National Security stressed that one of the main objectives of these measures is to end human trafficking. Thus, while the program of parole humanitarian law and the opportunities to obtain permits to enter legally will be increased, the punishment for those who enter illegally will be reinforced.
Mayorkas warned that as of May 12, anyone who enters without permission will not only be expelled expeditiously, but will also be banned from entering the country for five years, plus the possibility of being criminally prosecuted.
The measure also affects those who try to enter by sea, for which, as on land, police surveillance will be strengthened with more troops. In addition, Mayorkas said, they work with Colombia and Panama to attack traffickers in the Darien area, one of the most dangerous routes for migrants.
“The smugglers’ propaganda is false: we are not open and the border will not be open as of May 11,” the secretary said.
The statement from the State Department includes a request to Congress, the only one, they mention, that “can provide the necessary reforms and resources” to “update and reform” what they consider an “obsolete” immigration system.
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