“The agreement recognizes that migration from throughout the hemisphere does not start at the U.S.-Mexico border, nor can it be effectively addressed only at our southern border”
Washington, DC – Last Friday, June 10, President Biden joined leaders of Latin American countries at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas to sign a new agreement to address the issue of forced migration in the hemisphere. It is an important step in understanding and responding to migration as a foreign policy priority for the Americas.
Climate change, violence, poverty, femicide, corruption, and human and narcotics trafficking cause large numbers of people in this hemisphere to seek safety and opportunity outside their national borders. Coming out of the recent summit, U.S. and regional partners are pledging to take a more holistic approach to managing, mitigating, and ordering migration.
The agreement is called the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection (“the Los Angeles Declaration”) It is organized around four key pillars: stability and assistance for communities; expansion of legal pathways; humane migration management; and coordinated emergency response. As part of the agreement, the United States commits to resettling 20,000 refugees from Latin America, expanding family unification programs and expanding labor migration visas. It also calls for coordinated efforts to combat trafficking and smuggling and to address the root causes that generate forced migration.
Signatories included Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
The following is a statement from Douglas Rivlin, Director of Communication for America’s Voice:
The Los Angeles Declaration signals a new and intelligent approach to regional migration management and mitigation. The agreement recognizes that migration from throughout the hemisphere does not start at the U.S.-Mexico border, nor can it be effectively addressed only at our southern border.
Migration in this hemisphere is caused by a complex set of interrelated issues, yet we cannot continue to kick the can down the road and hope conditions will get better on their own. The multiple focus areas outlined in the declaration provide a good framework to create a hemispheric approach. It focuses on investments in addressing the conditions that generate forced migration. It includes expanded legal channels for migrants in the areas of needed workers, close family members and refugee resettlement. The agreement also calls on the nations in the region to shoulder a share of the work and the responsibility for protecting and resettling migrants.
This regional approach promoted by the Biden administration is a far cry from the cruel and chaotic Trump administration. Instead of cutting aid to communities from where migrants and refugees move, it targets them. Instead of forcing refugees and migrants to come to the U.S.-Mexico border to seek relief, it promises legal channels and orderly admissions. Instead of pretending that migration is primarily a domestic law enforcement issue, it recognizes that the challenge is hemispheric and regional and requires a coordinated international approach.
The work, however, does not stop here. It is now up to the Biden administration and its regional partners to work to ensure that this vision gets turned into a workable reality. While some of the commitments in the declaration are promising, their impact will be measured with concrete actions.
