The “new visa restriction policy is aimed at people who knowingly provide transportation to those who intend to migrate irregularly to the United States, including charter flights that arrive in Nicaragua,” said the head of US diplomacy.
By
DL Editorial – May 9, 2024
The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken , warned this Tuesday that Washington will sanction those who facilitate “irregular migration”, deploring the charter flights that arrive in Nicaragua with Asian and African migrants heading to the United States.
The “new visa restriction policy is aimed at people who knowingly provide transportation to those who intend to migrate irregularly to the United States, including charter flights arriving in Nicaragua,” Blinken said in a speech to continental ministers attending in Guatemala to a conclave that seeks solutions to the migration crisis.
Delegations from at least 20 countries met this Tuesday in Guatemala to address issues related to migration and refugees on the continent, including the US Secretary of State .
The American official was the main guest of the Ministerial Meeting of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection , which took place this Tuesday at the National Palace of Culture, headquarters of the Government of Guatemala.
Blinken met with top Latin American officials as part of the Biden administration ‘s push to get countries in the region to step up control of their borders and expand legal ways to migrate.
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The first meeting of this type took place on the occasion of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, in 2022 (REUTERS/Josue Decavele/Pool)
The US president has faced multiple criticisms for his handling of the southern border and the issue is a key concern for many voters in this year’s presidential election. In recent years, U.S. officials have increasingly turned to international partnerships to try to prevent large numbers of migrants from reaching the southern border.
The North American country depends in part on Mexico , its close partner in migration, to regulate the number of people destined for the southern border.
In late December, Blinken and Alejandro N. Mayorkas , the secretary of homeland security, visited Mexico to discuss increased enforcement during a month in which U.S. border agents encountered more than 250,000 migrants. On some days in December, 10,000 stops were made, according to The New York Times .
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The meeting is being held to ensure that the countries of the region intensify control of their borders and expand the legal ways to migrate (REUTERS/Josue Decavele/Pool)
Since then, the number of migrants arriving at the southern border has dropped dramatically. In February, officers made about 140,000 arrests, The New York Times reported . In March, there were more than 137,000 arrests, and April’s count is expected to be even lower, around 129,000 , according to a person familiar with the statistics who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss figures yet to be finalized.
On Monday, the United States imposed visa restrictions on executives of Colombian companies that transport migrants by sea, saying the movements were “primarily designed to facilitate irregular migration to the United States.”
The Guatemalan Foreign Ministry reported on Monday that the one-day meeting would be attended by delegations from Argentina, Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica , Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Suriname.
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The downward trend in border numbers could help Biden demonstrate that he is taking border security seriously (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
The first meeting of this type took place on the occasion of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, California, in June 2022 , as an initiative of the Government of the United States , and was endorsed in October of that same year in Lima. , Peru.
To date, a total of 22 countries on the American continent have adhered to the declaration, where every year thousands of people migrate in search of better living conditions, mostly destined for the United States.
The declaration has an implementation plan based on four pillars: stability and assistance for communities; promote regular migration and protection pathways; humanitarian border management and coordinated emergency response.
Kristie Canegallo, a senior national security official, said the pact was important to “provide a shared framework and goals.”
During his stay in Guatemala, Blinken will also meet with the Guatemalan president, Bernardo Arévalo de León , inaugurated last January, and will also hold meetings with “other leaders of the Western Hemisphere,” as confirmed by the US embassy.
With information from EFE and AFP
Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on May 17, 2024
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