WASHINGTON – President Biden spoke with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday but did not make much progress as the number of daily illegal border crossings breaks all-time records with thousands of migrants camped in border states awaiting processing.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby highlighted to reporters that Biden and López Obrador discussed long-standing efforts to address the “root causes” of migration, as well as tentative ideas to stem the flow of people through Mexico. .
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the same briefing that “the president has done everything he can, right? -on her account… [and] we also need funding” from Congress, prompting a sharp rebuke from the House GOP.
“The White House’s insistence that ‘the president has done everything he can on his own’ to secure the border is an insult to the American people,” said Raj Shah, spokesman for President Mike Johnson (R-La.), who implored Biden in a letter on Thursday to use his presidential powers to stop a growing humanitarian crisis just days before Christmas.
“Indeed, it has been the policies of this administration, which President Biden can reverse, that have led to the historic crisis we see every day,” Shah said.
Describing Biden’s conversations with his Mexican counterpart, Kirby emphasized that the leaders discussed how to address underlying problems in other countries as an increasingly diverse group of migrants, including from outside the Americas, cross the border and seek asylum.
“One of the things that President López Obrador and [Biden] What we talked about today was trying to work to get to the root causes of migration,” Kirby said, while acknowledging a “large increase” underway and a “significant increase” in illegal crossings.
A three-year initiative by the Biden administration to reduce illegal immigration by addressing “root causes” such as poverty, crime and corruption – led by Vice President Kamala Harris – has not reduced illegal crossings, whose levels have increased dramatically.
Thousands of migrants wait to be processed by the US Border Patrol at a makeshift transit center. Go Nakamura for NY Post The number of daily illegal border crossings is breaking all-time records. AFP via Getty Images
“There are many factors and part of them is, of course, dealing with the instability and political and domestic instability in the region,” said Kirby, who touted a Venezuelan prisoner exchange deal reached this week with socialist strongman Nicolás Maduro in which he agreed to release 21 opposition politicians.
“The work we did here with Venezuela, not only to get Americans back, but to get the Maduro regime to adhere to certain electoral reforms, is important, it is important to help address some of the root causes of migration.” , said. .
When asked by a reporter if Biden and López Obrador discussed how to stop the current flow, Kirby said: “They talked in broad terms about what can be done within Mexico to stop that process. And there are some things like checkpoints on railway lines and on roads and that kind of thing and the presence of the Mexican Armed Forces in the south can also be important for that.”
Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, will travel to Mexico in the near future to “develop these modalities a little.”
President Biden spoke with the Mexican president on Thursday about the crisis. AP There is a delay in processing along the US-Mexico border due to the high volume of illegal crossings. AFP via Getty Images
At one point, Kirby admitted that “more” needs to be done at the border, pointing to a pending request for additional funding for border operations and care for migrants allowed into the United States.
“An integral part of the supplemental request was the recognition that more needs to be done on border security. And we are willing to continue having that conversation with members of Congress,” he said.
The Biden administration has been forced to close two major rail links with Mexico amid the ongoing rush to the border.
López Obrador, whose office did not immediately release a readout of the call, said Thursday morning that Biden had requested that the two men speak.
The Mexican president said that “I think migration” would be the topic of conversation.
“Let’s see what we get,” added López Obrador, widely known by his initials, AMLO.
More than 12,600 people were reportedly processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Monday, the largest number ever recorded in a single day.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott reacted to the surge by signing a law Monday that would allow state police to arrest people entering illegally from Mexico, despite earlier rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court that immigration policy it cannot be established by individual states.
López Obrador has denounced the Texas state law as inhumane.
Johnson, the top Republican in Washington, sent Biden a letter on Thursday warning that “Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is at breaking point.”
“All of this is a direct result of your administration’s policies,” Johnson wrote. “You have clearly undermined the sovereignty and security of the United States by ending the Remain in Mexico policy, reinstating catch and release, suspending cooperative asylum agreements with other nations, ignoring existing restrictions on abuse of liberty conditional and stop the construction of the border wall.”
“You also undermined the core mission of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and even used a smartphone app to facilitate the release of border crossers into the United States,” he continued.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives called on the President to reverse these policies with swift executive action to expedite deportations and reform parole and asylum policies and to make use of Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Immigrants are arriving at the border from countries outside Latin America, including China, India, Russia and African nations. fake images
Federal law would allow Biden to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens whether immigrants or nonimmigrants or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he deems appropriate” if he “considers that the entry of any alien or the entry of “any class of foreigners to the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Johnson added: “The open border has caused unspeakable human tragedy for migrants and certainly for our own citizens.
“Countless children and adults have been victims of human trafficking and the cartels have been emboldened and enriched,” he wrote. “Local communities have been devastated and dangerous terrorists and criminals have entered illegally and spread across our country. “We are now more vulnerable than ever to a terrorist attack in our homeland.”
Winter typically attracts fewer migrants due to frigid temperatures along the southwest border, but this month’s increase in crossings comes after years of growing increases, which Republicans attribute to Biden’s more welcoming policies for migrants. asylum seekers.
Many people who cross the border illegally are allowed to enter the United States pending decisions on their claims of persecution, placing a strain on local government resources in New York City and other popular destinations.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently described Texas’ new immigration law as “inhumane.” SASHENKA GUTIÉRREZ/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
After an initial waiting period, migrants seeking asylum are entitled to work permits.
The long-backlogged system of registration and hearing dates means cases can stretch into the future.
Nearly 2.5 million people were apprehended after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, in addition to some 670,000 “escapes” who evaded authorities.
That record count came after a record of nearly 2.4 million the year before, following a record 1.7 million in fiscal year 2021.
On his first day in office in January 2021, Biden halted funding to build former President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Biden in June 2021 ended Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that required most asylum seekers arriving at the southern border to wait in Mexico for rulings by U.S. courts.
In October, the Department of Homeland Security said it was necessary to resume wall construction in Texas, citing an “acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers… to prevent illegal entry,” but Biden distanced himself from the move and said that I had to spend money. assigned by Congress.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn