The President of the United States, Joe Biden, affirmed this Thursday that the Biden Administration will implement new immigration measures to receive up to 20,000 refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean in the next two years.
“These actions alone that I am announcing today are not going to fix our entire immigration system, but they can help us a lot to better manage what is a difficult challenge,” he said, as reported by the US network CNN.
As reported in a statement by the White House, the measures “will expand and expedite the legal channels for orderly migration,” while, on the other hand, “they will have consequences for those who do not use them.”
“The Administration announces that it is increasing additional resources to the border and the region, expanding its operations against contraband and expanding coordination, as well as support to border cities and non-governmental organizations,” reads a statement.
Likewise, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice will propose “a new regulation” to encourage migrants to “seek orderly and legal pathways for migration” with the aim of “reducing overcrowding along the southwest border and pressure on the immigration system.
Washington will allocate 23 million dollars (21.8 million euros) in additional humanitarian assistance in Mexico and Central America to help regional governments “respond to the growing humanitarian and protection needs of migrants, refugees and other vulnerable populations in office”.
Biden has also expressed his willingness to visit the southern border of the United States, specifically El Paso, in the state of Texas, with the aim of discussing border security with local officials and other officials.
When asked by reporters if he will visit the border when he travels next week to the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico City, he has indicated that this is his “intention.” “We are working on the details now,” he has previously added, indicating that he is going “to see what happens” at the border.
