Senior government officials will travel to Mexico and Guatemala this week to discuss migration in the region and develop a plan for the increasing number of people reaching the U.S.-Mexico border, the White House said on Monday.
What you need to know
- US officials will travel to Mexico and Guatemala this week to discuss the surge in migration on the US-Mexico border and ways to address the root causes of this movement
- The trip is part of the Biden administration’s long-term goal to break the “cycles” of migration that are driving people towards the United States
- Meanwhile, the US is still struggling to house the growing number of unaccompanied migrant children, many of whom are held in poor conditions in border facilities
- While officials reiterate that people should not come to the border, they also promise “as soon as possible” solutions to address the surge and needs
The trip comes as the Biden government pledges to address the root causes of the movement toward the United States’ southern border, which includes many migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador fleeing violence, poverty and food insecurity.
The number of people reaching the border in the coming months is likely to be higher than in two decades, said Alejandro Mayorkas, Minister of Homeland Security last week.
On Monday, Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, coordinator for the southwest border, will travel to Mexico with Juan Gonzalez, senior director for the western hemisphere, where she will meet with Mexican officials to discuss a “humane plan of action” to combat migration.
Ricardo Zúñiga, the newly appointed Special Envoy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Northern Triangle, will attend the trip.
Mexico has also borne much of the strain from the rise in borders, especially as border officials turned back thousands of migrants under a public health order last year, many of whom were expelled to Mexico.
Following the meeting in Mexico, Director Gonzalez and Special Envoy Zúñiga will travel to Guatemala to meet officials and aid agency representatives and to discuss the causes of migration from the country.
Senior government officials involved in the trip said it was part of a “long-term effort” to break the migratory cycles that bring people to the US border and an ongoing “dialogue” about the role played by Central American governments , Community organizations and private companies can play play.
According to information, more than 100,000 migrants were intercepted at the border last month Data more than in the same month in 2019 when the US last saw a significant increase in border crossings.
The group that has overwhelmed the US government in the country are unaccompanied minors. The government has decided not to exclude children who cross the border on their own, although they are still rejecting almost all adults and children some families.
“We will not give up our values and principles. We will not give up the needs of vulnerable children, ”said DHS Secretary Mayorkas said CNN this weekend.
However, politics has resulted in overcrowded, inhumane conditions in border guards as the administration struggles to find sufficient capacity in emergency shelters for the growing number of minors.
As of last week, more than 4,500 children had been in border guards and hundreds had been detained in these facilities for more than the legal limit of three days to CNN.
Over the weekend, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) shared photos out of one of those detention centers where crowded conditions and children sleep on mats.
Photos from the temporary CBP overflow facility in Donna, Texas, show conditions at the border when state facilities fill up. These photos were kindly provided by Congressman Henry Cuellar’s Office (D-TX). pic.twitter.com/HGhTYETK7X
– Margaret Chadbourn (@MLChadbourn) March 22, 2021
“A border guard station is not a place for a child,” said Sec. Mayorkas said Sunday. “That’s why we’re working around the clock to get these children out of the border guards.”
Secretary Mayorkas promised that “as soon as possible” a better system would be put in place to prevent children from being held in poor conditions and to stem the surge at the border.
Over the weekend, President Biden said he would visit the border “at some point” although it is unclear how soon such a trip would take place.
Currently, much information about the conditions of the border fortifications comes from lawyers and lawmakers who have visited and shared photos and details from the inside.
Officials said they were working to provide “safe” access to media members as reporters have so far been prevented from observing the conditions themselves.
In the meantime, the Biden government has doubled its message to people considering migrating from Central America, including through new radio and digital advertising.
“Don’t come,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “Give us the time to put in place an orderly system that you can use to assert your claims under US law without going on the trip and endangering your life.”
On Monday sent the Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who represent both border states a letter to President Biden for calling on him to use his “full powers” to respond to the situation at the border.
The senators called for more resources at the border and “concrete steps” to reform the asylum procedure, which the government claims to be working on.
As a long-term solution, officials said they would work to set up processing centers in Central America to process asylum applications that are currently only valid once a person reaches US land. Processing in the country would make asylum more similar to the refugee reception program.
Currently, asylum is restricted by the Public Health Ordinance, Title 42, imposed on the border, which has resulted in the expulsion of the majority of people entering the U.S., including more than 70,000 people last month.
