According to U.S. and Mexican authorities, the country intends to admit up to 30,000 migrants each month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela through a scheme coupled with the deportation of citizens from those nations apprehended at the border.
According to two U.S. and one Mexican official, the enlarged humanitarian program would build on an October policy that permitted thousands of Venezuelans to travel by plane if they applied from outside and could show they had a U.S. sponsor.
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The announcement of the program’s contents coincides with U.S. President Joe Biden’s intentions to speak today about border security and visit the border next week to address a problem that has plagued the Democratic leader throughout his first two years in office.
The new restrictions were supposed to be implemented on Thursday, according to the two American officials, but the White House did not reply to a request for comment seeking official confirmation.
After visiting Kentucky on Wednesday, Biden told reporters at the White House that he wanted to see “peace and security” at the border. He had earlier in the day stated that plans were still being finalized, but he wanted to visit the southwest border.
Regarding the border visit, Biden stated, “I’m going to see what’s going on.” He continued, “You’ll learn more about border security in my address tomorrow, which I’ll be giving.”
When asked which city he intended to visit, Biden did not respond. However, the news outlet Axios later claimed that he will travel to El Paso, Texas, a border city that declared a state of emergency in December due to a spike in migrant arrivals.
On January 9 and 10, Biden is set to go to Mexico City for the North American Leaders’ Summit, where he will have meetings with Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the president of Mexico.
As a result of the unprecedented number of migrants apprehended trying to enter the U.S.-Mexico border since Biden assumed office in January 2021, migration is anticipated to be a topic of discussion during the conference.
Republicans have attacked what they see as lax border security measures, while Biden administration officials said they are working to establish a more regulated and compassionate system.
According to Reuters, the Biden administration is preparing to use restrictions from the pandemic era to send many migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti who were apprehended at the southwest border back to Mexico while simultaneously allowing some to enter the country by air on humanitarian grounds.
Expanding the expulsions has been opposed by Democrats and migrant activists who claim that doing so will put migrants in danger in Mexico and prevent them from exercising their right to petition for asylum.
