On Friday, President Joe Biden will unveil his migration strategy, which includes the US and Latin American countries pledging to take in more migrants as the crisis at the US-Mexico border persists.
Biden is presenting his concept at a time when migration has become a big political issue, with Republicans – and even some Democrats – expressing worry about the unprecedented influx of migrants into the United States.
The number of migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border increased to 234,088 in April, surpassing March’s 22-year record of slightly over 221,000.
The high numbers are being used by Republicans to slam the administration before of the November midterm elections, which will determine who controls Congress. Biden has been pressed to provide specifics on his ideas for dealing with the problem.
His ‘Los Angeles Declaration’ will lay out a set of migration principles, including legal entry paths, help to areas most impacted by migration, compassionate border control, and coordinated emergency responses.
The plan also includes financial incentives for countries that accept migrants and provide them with a means of earning a living.
Officials from the Obama administration say that the idea will help alleviate the labor shortage that the United States and other countries are experiencing.
‘Governments will commit to cooperatively expanding temporary worker programs to solve labor shortages while minimizing irregular migration,’ according to the proclamation.
On a conference call with reporters on Thursday, a senior administration official said, “We see this as a true win-win for countries like the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as other countries across the Western Hemisphere that are facing enormous labor shortages.”
Biden will encourage countries to sign on to the accord at the end of his tumultuous Summit of the Americas, which will require countries to improve their own asylum processes, establish more work visas, and strengthen their own border enforcement.
However, some crucial partners in the fight against migration are absent, including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who boycotted the summit because leaders from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua were not invited. Mexico is a major migratory transit country.
The leaders of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the three countries that make up the Northern Triangle, also skipped the conference, raising doubts about Biden’s ‘Los Angeles Declaration”s effectiveness.
The majority of migrants wanting to reach the US border come from Mexico and the three countries that make up the ‘triangle.’
However, a senior administration official stated that the countries were involved in the pact’s development.
‘We’ve worked closely with them on the declaration’s creation and appreciate their cooperation,’ the person said.
The summit has been delayed due to the diplomatic boycott, as Biden tries to regain US dominance in Latin America and confront the growing threat posed by China, which is heavily investing in the region.
The administration is attempting to depict the immigration crisis as a region-wide problem.
It is enlisting the help of other nations, such as Spain and Canada, to share the burden of hosting migrants.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have already arrived in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica.
In Latin America, violence, poverty, and a low standard of living have driven millions of people to depart their homelands in search of a better life.
Six million Venezuelans have fled the dictatorship in their nation. Nicaraguans, Cubans, Haitians, and others live in countries where there is violence or great poverty.