Washington, (Samajweekly) The US has announced plans to open new migrant processing centres in Colombia and Guatemala in an effort to reduce undocumented immigration, the media reported.
The BBC reported that these centres will allow successful applicants to enter the US legally and improve their access to assistance such as refugee resettlement processing and family reunification.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 people are expected to be processed a month but this will be scaled up. Spain and Canada have also agreed to take a number of those applying.
US officials on Thursday also announced plans to double or triple the number of deportation flights to some countries.
Those who try to reach America illegally by sea will now also not be eligible for parole, allowing them to temporarily live and work in the US.
These latest measures come weeks before the planned lifting of Title 42, which was introduced during the Trump administration and gave immigration agents the right to immediately deport undocumented migrants before they could register an asylum request.
The policy is expected to end on May 11 after being delayed.
“Notwithstanding those preparations, we do expect that encounters at our southern border will increase as smugglers are seeking to take advantage of this change and already are hard at work spreading disinformation that the border will be open after that,” the BBC quoted Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying.
President Joe Biden has been under intense pressure to deal with the high number of undocumented migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border.
About 200,000 undocumented migrants attempt to enter the US each month, according to recent government records.
Earlier this year, Mexico agreed to accept thousands more deportees from the US after the Biden administration said 30,000 Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans would be granted entry each month on humanitarian visas provided they applied through the correct immigration pathways.
