U.S., MEXICO HOLD HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS ON MIGRATION
Delegations discuss options to spur further development
A U.S. delegation discussed immigration and regional development in a series of meetings in Mexico Tuesday at a time when the rising number of migrants arriving at their shared border has raised concerns in both countries.
The Biden administration is concerned about the number of migrant families and unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months.
Former U.S. ambassador Roberta Jacobson, the White House’s lead adviser on the border, and Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, were accompanied by Ricardo Zuniga, the newly named special envoy for the Northern Triangle.
The new administration has started to dismantle Trump-era policies that made it more difficult for asylum seekers, but have maintained some, like the pandemic-related policy invoked by former President Donald Trump that allowed the U.S. to continue to return the majority of border crossers to Mexico.
In a meeting with Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, the two delegations discussed “humanitarian actions to spur, in the short term, an inclusive economic development in northern Central America,” according to a statement released by the Mexican government.
Ebrard later emphasized the shared goal of development in the region to address migration.
“If we persevere and act together we can achieve that these countries and southern Mexico have a different future, have other possibilities,” he said. “That no one has to migrate due to poverty, insecurity, desperation.”
The so-called Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have been the largest source of migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border in recent years. Plagued by endemic corruption and violence, and more recently devastated by two major hurricanes in November and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, migrants continue to stream out of those countries.
Confusion and misinformation over Biden’s approach to immigrants and asylum seekers has been a contributing factor. Many migrants sensing a change in attitude from the heavyhanded Trump policies set out during the first months of the year to try their luck.
Jacobson took the opportunity to again try to send a clear message to those thinking about migrating to the U.S. “Don’t come to the border. The border is closed,” Jacobson said in Spanish in a message released by the U.S. embassy in Mexico.
She noted the danger of migrant smugglers and of traveling during the pandemic. “Stay at home, stay safe and wait for more information about the asylum process.”
Mexico finds itself once again under pressure to slow the movement of migrants across its territory. Last week, the government announced it was imposing new measures at its southern border that would permit only essential crossings due to pandemic concerns. But coming a year after the start of the pandemic, many observers saw it as a cover for more immigration enforcement.
At the same time, Mexico deployed more immigration agents to the south and said it would focus on intercepting unaccompanied children and families with children trying to reach its northern border.