Regional Migration Plan Annuonced By President Joe Biden As The Turbulences Surrounding Immigration Surmounts
14 June 2022Currently, one of the major bones of contention in American society is the issue of immigration. It has been the cause of so many uproars, debates, and disagreements amongst Congress members and lay partisans alike. For years, ruling administrations have done their best to manage the situation, eradicate it, or make favorable laws that would help the situation and the parties concerned. Notable among attempts to manage immigration situations were the building of the border wall and the enactment of Title 42 by the Trump administration.
Amongst many other issues, the issue of increasing migration was yet again discussed and analyzed at the Summit of the Americas hosted by the United States last week. President Joe Biden alongside other regional leaders and representatives on Friday, June 10, 2022, announced the "Los Angeles Declaration on Migration."
One of the many reasons for the Summit was to address the challenges many countries in the American continent are facing due to the rising rate of migration. Hence, the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration is a partnership among leaders in the region to collectively tackle the problem of increased migration. The declaration asks various governments (especially those along migratory routes) in the region to enforce more efficient migration protocols such as establishing and enhancing asylum processing, enforcing their borders by carefully conducting screenings, enacting effective labor programs, and more. The full text of “fact sheet” provided by the White House regarding the declaration is available here.
The focal point of the declaration is to share responsibility and to grant economic support to countries most affected by the migration of refugees and asylees. The declaration attempts to get countries to collectively handle migration issues in a more coordinated and strategic pattern with a huge focus on; stability and assistance for affected regions, legal pathways, better and improved border management, and organized emergency response.
This is an important moment for the U.S. as it is the first time that various regions have been contacted to share in the responsibility of handling migration challenges.
Although a lot of topics were discussed at the summit including economic investments and health security, the issue of migration seems to be the most challenging and complicated issue to handle.
Experts commenting on migration issues suggest that to adequately manage the issue of increasing migration, consistency is key. Policies should be followed through. It shouldn't be a case of going back and forth because the administration changed hands. Regulations that are thought to be too burdensome should be reviewed and reformed rather than scrapping them in a hurry.
For instance, Former President Trump interrupted economic aid to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These are countries that for years rolling into decades have had a high number of persons migrating to the U.S.
Hence, Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of the Americas advises that "Unless you have massive job creation in the formal economy, the incentive for people to remain in their home country is going to be difficult."
While the issue of increased migration cannot be solved once at the Summit, it is a good thing that a process has begun and progress is ensured with successive dialogues.
While the U.S. is chief amongst destinations for asylum seekers, it's not the only country suffering from an excessive flood of migrants. It is reported that Colombia currently houses over 2 million Venezuelan refugees. Peru also houses a large number of Venezuelans.
As of the period of the Summit, the President of Colombia reported that his country has granted temporary status to one million Venezuelans in a little over a year.
At this rate, there's no possibility that migration will end anytime soon. Coupled with the fact that the economic situations are still unstable due to the injury caused by the pandemic, weak growth and rising prices have nearly crippled many economies.
Notably absent among the leaders in the Summit were the Presidents of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. The Presidents of the first four countries boycotted the Summit in protest against the exclusion of the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua from the Summit. The protesting Presidents sent their foreign ministers instead.
The issue of migration is a major and fast-growing concern domestically. Although the Biden-Harris administration seems to have made changes to regulate the flow of trouping migrants, certain underlying regulations seem to limit the entrance of asylum seekers into the United States. To learn more on the topic, visit our YouTube channel.