Mexico and U.S. to broaden legal entry into U.S.

President of Mexico and U.S. National Security Advisor Announce Joint Commitment to Expand Legal Pathways of Entry into the U.S.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and U.S. National Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall met on Tuesday in Mexico City to discuss the humanitarian situation caused by the unprecedented migratory flows on the shared border and in the region. They announced a joint commitment to expand “legal pathways” of entry into the U.S.

Opening Regional Processing Centers

The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and State announced that they were opening regional processing centers in “key locations throughout the Western Hemisphere to reduce irregular migration and facilitate safe, orderly, humane, and lawful pathways from the Americas.” The first centers will open in several countries, including Colombia and Guatemala.

• Foreign nationals will be able to make appointments using their phone to go to the centers before ever leaving for Mexico or the U.S.
• An “immigration specialist” will interview them and if the specialist determines they are eligible, will process them “rapidly for lawful pathways to the United States, Canada, and Spain,” according to the new policy.

Redoubling Development Efforts

Obrador reaffirmed his commitment to the plan, saying, “In particular, Mexico and the United States will redouble their development efforts focused on people-to-people support.” Mexico also recognizes “the great potential value of the regional processing centers that the United States announced last week, and discussed how our country can contribute to their effectiveness,” he said.

CBP Data Contradicts Claims

Obrador said he and President Joe Biden are committed to expanding “legal pathways with consequences for irregular migration,” claiming they’ve already “achieved a 95 percent reduction in arrivals of undocumented people – of the nationalities included in the program – at our shared border.” However, CBP data contradicts this claim, with nearly 270,000 apprehensions and gotaways reported at the southwest border alone in March.

After halting construction of the U.S. border wall and canceling funding for CBP’s tethered aerostat radar system, a critical tool agents use to detect goataways, the Biden administration is financing expansion of one of Mexico’s ports of entry to “modernize” its shared border with Mexico. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Obrador said, which is “a step that will benefit the Mexican and U.S. economies.”